Best Friends
by chibi angelle
Summary: Sakura and Syaoran have been best friends since...forever. But now its their last year of highschool and their feelings toward each other are starting to change........for better or for worse?
1. September Blues

Best Friends

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura.

I want to dedicate this story to my bestest friend EVER, Iesha. She's a really great writer and she totally inspired me to write fan fiction stories. Also, she's really nice.

Monday

Sakura sighed. It was the first day of her high school senior year. She should be happy right? Wrong. She felt like crawling into bed and dying. With a resigned sigh she got out of her whiteVolkswagen convertibleand headed toward the schoolyard. A cool, gentle breeze swept past her, making her auburn hair fly around her face. She sat on a stone bench under a cherry blossom tree, waiting for her friends. She sighed and propped her chin on her fists, staring forlornly at the pavement.

"Hey! Hey Sakura!" called a familiar voice.

She straightened up. "Syao? Is that you?"

She smiled as Li Syaoran's lively face peered around the tree that was behind her.

"Who else would it be?" he said. "Well, don't I get a hug?"

Her smile widened. He always knew how to make her feel better even if he didn't know she was sad. He pulled her into a tight bear hug and then sat down.

"So, tell me what's wrong." He said, seriousness creeping into his playful voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She was lying in vain. She didn't want to burden him with her many problems this early in the day. He seemed so happy.

He scoffed. "Sakura, are you serious? I always know when you're lying, we've been best friends since before first grade."

"Fine," She sighed resignedly. She paused for so long he didn't think she was going to answer her. "Kai dumped me," she said in a small voice.Saying his nameripped her heart out over and over againas tears wormed their way down her beautiful rosy cheeks. "He said something about realizing that we clearly weren't meant for each other and that it would be better if we stopped seeing each other." She angrily wiped away her tears. Syaoran was the only person she would cry in front of.After a minute she looked up at Syaoran whose smile had vanished completely. It its place was a very concerned expression.

"When did this happen?" She sniffed and blew her nose on a crumpled (and probably already used) tissue.

"Yesterday," she replied.

"Saki," he began, using his nickname for her. "He's a total jerk, not worth it. You deserve better. You know that right?" He put his arm comfortingly around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, you're right." She smiled as he wiped a tear off her cheek. "You know, you always make me feel better, no matter what happens. Thanks so much Syao." She said, her voice dripping with gratitude.

"Any time, you know you're like my little sister." _Wait til I get my hands on that baka, he'll get what's comin to him. _They both stopped talking for a while and all that could be heard was their gentle breathing. "Saki?"

"Yes?"

"What else is wrong?" She sighed again.

He thought she wasn't going to answer then: "Dad walked out on us." She said so softly that he almost didn't hear.

"Omigosh, are you all right?" he said worriedly. He didn't want her to be depressed all day so he had to choose his words carefully.

"I should've seen it coming. I mean, with mom being a total alcoholic and incredibly irresponsible, it was kind of obvious. I guess I just hoped that they'd work it out instead of it ending up like this, y'know?"

"It's not your fault. And you're always welcome to crash at my house if you want." She smiled. She knew he was trying his best to make her feel better, but it was just too sad thinking about her father. She forced down the depression that was threatening to overwhelm her soul and instead wrapped her arms around her best friend, who hugged her back. The feeling of his arms around her made her sadness ebb away, like the darkness under a morning sun. Somehow, she just knew things would be alright as long as Syao was on her side.

About fifteen minutes later, she broke away from him. It was kind of getting awkward. She felt butterflies in her stomach every time he was near her. It was almost like how she had felt around Kai before they started dating. But she dismissed this thought with a flick of her mind. _No, I'm just vulnerable because Kai just dumped me, the wound is fresh and I need someone to make me forget…. well, that's what alcohol is for isn't it? _She thought to herself.

"Actually, you know what? We should have a party over at my house!" Syaoran interrupted her thoughts because he knew what she was thinking. "We could say its for the beginning of the school year…it'd help you get your mind off things." Sakura was kind of predictable and he didn't want herbecoming an alcoholic, drinking to forget… This way, he could watch and protect her. His parents wouldn't mind, her parents won't even notice.

"That sounds so awesome Syao! Can I plan it?" Sakura had a knack for planning fantastically amazing parties.

"Of course."

"Yay! This is going to be so great Syao! Thank you so much, I really need this right now." She hugged him and felt the same weird tingling sensation that she'd felt earlier. She held on anyways because it felt so nice to be in his muscular arms.

"Yo, dude. Are you two dating yet?" Sana Shruikin's flame-red hair blew around his face as he passed by on his black skateboard.

"No." They replied in unison.

"Whao dudes why not? Any one can see your totally perfect for each other man." He called as he moved past. His words were slightly slurred because, as usual, he was drunk. Also, he had tried weed lately and liked it. So, naturally, he was getting high every day. In the janitor's closet. But you didn't hear it from me.

"Hey you two!" called the tawny-eyed SukisyoAyisha from her boyfriend HitoshiHakaru's car. The wind blew herlight green streaked hair arouind her pretty face.He stepped out first and opened the door for her andshe made a face. Sakura smirked,knowingthat she didn't like being treated like that, she could open the door for herself. Fortunately, Hakaru didn't see as he intertwined his fingers with hers and began to walk over. Sakura let go of Syaoran to hug her other best friend.

"Hey there Ayisha, Hakaru." Shenodded her head politely. She didn't really like Hakaru because something about him just seemed, untrustworthy. But, as he made Ayisha happy, Sakura would tolerate him. "So how was your summer?" She directed her question at Ayisha.

"It was totally awesome!" Her friend replied. It was only awesome because it was during that summer that Sakura and Syaoran had set up a date between Ayisha and Hakaru. Ayisha had noticed how Sakura had linked her arm tightly around Syaoran's and raised her eyebrows so high that they had danger of disappearing into her bangs. Sakura only smiled miscieviously in reply.

"Pookie!" Came an ecstatic shout from behind them and Sakura hurriedly relinquished her grip on Syaoran.Syaoran's girlfriend was not one to provoke.

Heads turned as the Tsai sisters got out of their stretch limosine. Even though they were very rich and could go to any private school they wanted to, the Tsai sisters wanted to come to a nice, relatively normal middle-class school so they could get away from the politics of the rich, competing families. Well, Katana did anyway.

Even though they were twins, there could not be two people in the whole world more different than them. Jet, Syaoran's girlfriend, had beautiful ebony waist-length black hair and bangs, green eyes, a slim figure and the exuberance (and pettiness) of a five-year-old. Katana, Jet's sister, was born an albino, albeit a very beautiful albino. She had snow-white hair,deep magenta eyes, pale skin and was very kind, caring and sweet. She was Ayisha's best friend since the beginning of high school. She and Ayisha had very motherly, responsible personalities.

Jet literally ran up to Syaoran and wrapped her legs around him. Then they started making out, in front of everyone. Sakura usually thought the couple's public display of affection was totally adorable, but today she turned her head away in disgust. Ayisha noticed this but decided to save it for later, she had a feeling what would be said should be for their ears only.

It was what seemed like a century until Syaoran finally broke the kiss.

"Guess what every body?" He said as he pulled Jet closer to him.

"Chicken butt," said a very random Hakaru. Ayisha elbowed him lightly then forgave him with a quick kiss on the lips.

"Um…no. I'm having a party at my house on Saturday and you're all invited." Syaoran smiled at Jet. She loved parties.

"You know what?" Jet cut in.

"Chicken butt," Hakaru replied again. Sakura realized he was just trying to get Ayisha to kiss him again.

"Ugh, _shut up Hakaru. _It's not funny." He turned to Ayisha, who looked ashamed and embarrassed for and of him and immediatley shut up. "What I was going to say was; why don't we have the party at my house? No offense, sweetie, but my house is much bigger." She kissed Syaoran as an apology, who accepted her apology.

"If it's alright with Sakura," Syaoran said casually.

"Why do we have to run this through with _Sakura _before it's okay?" There was no anger in voice, but it was in her eyes, which only Syaoran could see. He abruptly put her down as he continued with his explaination.

"_Because, _I promised she could plan this party." He replied, as if it wasn't obvious.

"Oh, I have no problem with that. In fact, Jet—" Sakura was trying to calm the argument.

"Call me Tsai-san." Jet interjected venimously.

"--If _you _want to plan the party, you can." She continued as if she didn't hear her. Syaoran looked sympathetically at Sakura. He knew that she just didn't want him to get in trouble with his girlfriend just for her. _Poor girl, _he thought. _I'll make it up to her. _At the same time, his rage was boiling at Jet for not understanding and generally being a brat. He didn't understand why she couldn't be more like her sister.

"**_Actually,_**" Katana cut in quietly, but forcefully. "I think it would be better if Sakura planned the party, Jet, you can help her."

Katana was a very perceptive girl. She knew that Jet was just being spoiled again and Sakura was just letting her be. Someone had to put her in her place.

"Fine, okay. Oh, yeah, that'd be good. Y'know, especially since Syaoran promised her she could." Jet said resignedly.

"Thank you," her murmured in her ear. "I love you."

"You too." She sighed dejectedly. This was not going how she wanted this to go. Syaoran was supposed to cater to her every whim. Sakura was getting in the way. Hers and Syaoran's bond was too strong.

_There are ways to fix that. _She thought evily to herself.


	2. The Party

Hey you guys, I'm sorta new to this story-writing thing, so tell me if I did anything wrong or forgot anything, okay? Thanks! Btw…Thank you SoOoO much for everybody who reviewed, I super love you all. Also…I'm REALLY REALLY sorry it took me soo long to write this chapter. It's because the only time I like to write is on the weekends so yeah…sorry again.

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura.**_

**Friday**

Sakura sighed and pushed away her algebra homework. '_I'm never going to get this.' _She thought to herself. She yawned and got up to stretch. She glanced at the clock. 8:30. '_Time to feed Kero.' _She tiptoed down the hallway of the cramped apartment that she shared with her mother. '_Speaking of which…'_ Sakura crept into her mother's room.

Avalon Jade was sprawled on her Duvet bedspread like a dead spider. Her limbs were everywhere and her hair was nothing more than and tangly mess of auburn curls around her face. Her violet-blue eyes were closed and she looked almost peaceful. Sakura walked over to her mother's bed and tucked her in. She sighed when she noticed what her hand was curled so protectively over: a half-empty wine glass. She pried this from her fingers and pulled a blanket over her.

Sakura had always loved this room, it was full of pictures of her and her mother, happy and eating ice cream. She had always wondered why she looked nothing like either of her parents. But whenever she asked them about it, they'd all intense and give each other really meaningful looks. After a while, she decided that it didn't matter as long as they loved her and each other. _'They don't even love each other any more.'_

Kero, her golden retriever puppy wandered into the room and began to whimper slightly and looked at Sakura with, well, puppy-dog eyes. Sakura nodded and stepped quietly into the hall. When Kero was hungry, he did whatever it took to get food. She poured him a bowl of dog food, set down a plate of meat scraps and had proceeded to fill his water bowl when the phone rang, ripping through the silence like a 2-year-old with paper. She jumped about a mile high, causing some water to spill on the floor. As she ran to the phone, she slipped on the newly made puddle and grabbed the phone on the way down.

"HOE!" She blushed and cleared her throat. "Sorry, I mean, hello?"

"Hello dear Sakura, I've missed you." It was the smooth voice that she had been trying so hard to forget.

"Kai…?"

"Yes." That voice could still send shivers up her spine and set her heart on fire at the same time.

"What is it that you want?" Kai chuckled, her eighteenth birthday was coming up and she was still _so _naïve.

"I still love you, Sakura."

Her breath caught in her throat, and unimaginable joy surged through her very being. She took a deep breath and even so her voice trembled a bit. She could imagine the way his liquid gold eyes would've twinkled and the way his hair had a habit of defying gravity. She loved his hair. It was so… _interesting. _

"I love you too." On the other end, Kai was smiling insincerely.

"Really? Oh, that's so good to hear. Well, since we're back together again how would you like to go to a party with me?"

"Um, actually I have to help a friend of mine plan her party. But, do you want to go?"

"Who's your friend?"

"Her name's Tsai Jet. She lives on the Upper West Side. You know, where all the mansions are?"

"Oh, what a coincidence. That's the party I was just about to ask you to."

"Cool, see you there. Bye."

"Goodbye, my love." Click.

Sakura hugged the phone and twirled around happily. Then she slipped in the same puddle of water for a second time. But she was too busy to care. She came down from her happy high just long enough to mop up the water and decide that she just had to call someone. She needed to share this happiness or she would burst. Her fingers moved over the numbers one the phone as she semi-consciously dialed Syaoran's cell phone. It range twice but no one picked up. She shrugged. It's not as if it was something completely major or anything, he was probably busy. Her fingers dialed her other best friend's cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Oh my gosh Tomoyo guess what?"

"What?" _'What could make Sakura so happy?' _Her mind answered for her. _'Well… a lot of things, actually. Maybe she finished all of her math homework by herself or maybe she went through an entire day with out bumping into something or someone or falling or tripping or…_

"Me and Kai got back together." Tomoyo groaned. That wasn't good news. The bastard just broke her heart and she was accepting him back with open arms. It was times like these that Tomoyo wished she hadn't skipped a grade and gotten into college on dress designing scholarship. Because if she wasn't so far away she would've made Sakura see what a player Kai was. He was just taking advantage of her.

"Sakura-" Tomoyo began.

"What?"

"Don't you think this is a bad idea? From my perspective I don't think he really likes you and-" Sakura sighed resignedly.

"I guess you're right Tomoyo but, he just makes me feel so… I don't know…beautiful, sexy, smart?"

"But Sakura, that just proves he's a total liar." Tomoyo teased.

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Tomoyo. Well, I've gotta plan a party tomorrow so I'll call you later 'kay?"

"Yeah, thanks for callin'. Night Saku." Only her best friends were allowed to call her by her nicknames; Tomoyo called her 'Saku' and Syaoran called her 'Saki'.

"Night Moyo."

And that was the last thing Sakura remembered doing before falling asleep smiling.

Saturday, The Party.

The party was loud. If she could, she would've driven far, far away from here. As it so happened, she crashed into a tree the day after she got her G1 and completely totaled her father's favorite Bentley. Needless to say, her father forbade her from coming anywhere near his cars. Which would've been fine, except all of the cars that the Tsai household had belonged to her father.

Katana sighed and rolled over in her mattress. She buried her head in a pillow and prayed for sleep to come.

Sakura 

She was exhausted. The whole time she had been there, Jet was nowhere to be seen. If one of the helpers knew where Jet was they didn't say anything. They just obeyed Sakura's requests quietly and without opinion. She had been running around all afternoon and she wasn't wearing the proper shoes. The Tsai mansion was HUGE. Her feet ached and her back hurt. All she wanted to do was sleep, so that's what she did. She walked, half-conscious, down the hall and collapsed into a spare bedroom. She was asleep before she hit the pillows.

**Jet**

Jet was actually sunning her herself on the roof while she let Sakura take care of everything else. She couldn't be a good hostess if she was al tired now could she be? At around 7:30 Jet wandered back into the house, took a shower and got ready for the party. She slipped on her favorite strapless silky black dress it hugged her curves and brought out the color of her envy green eyes. And went downstairs to greet the guests. About fifteen minutes later, the house was already almost full to the capacity. And Syaoran was still nowhere to be seen. Her first thought was that he was blowing her off for Sakura, but then she realized that Sakura was still in her house. _He's probably here already. _She smiled and several girls stepped out of her way. She wanted him, and she wanted him _bad._

Syaoran 

After picking up and dropping off Ayisha and Hakaru at the party, he parked the car and went in search of his girlfriend. When he entered the house, however, he realized that this would not be so easy. _I guess I'll just walk around aimlessly until I find her._

About half and hour later, he was still looking for Jet when he caught sight of Jet nearby. He caught her wrist and spun her around before hugging her close. She tensed but then took a deep breath and recognized her boyfriend's distinguishable scent. She pulled back just far enough to kiss him.

"Hey, come upstairs I wanna show you something." She said breathlessly.

"Okay." He said, slightly puzzled but eager. She took his hand and led him upstairs.

Ayisha 

She was having a horrible time. She was at the bar watching her boyfriend and some golden-eyed boy drink shots of Whiskey at the bar. Apparently it was some kind of contest of wills or whatever. Whoever could drink the most shots owed the other twenty bucks. If someone puked ten bucks would be added to the deal until they could drink no more. After an hour, they were still at it, getting thoroughly wasted while Ayisha amused herself by staring at the other boy's hair. It stuck out everywhere and would've looked extremely messy if it was so totally cool. It seemed to defy gravity and poke people as they walked past. But after a while even that got boring. So Ayisha hopped off her stool, and decided to walk home or find Katana, whichever came first.

Syaoran 

He was sitting on Jet's black-and-white bedspread, waiting for her to return from where ever she went off to. His eyes were closed because she said that if he peeked he wouldn't get his 'surprise'.

"Now you can look." He did. He almost fainted with shock because there, in front of him was Jet. In nothing but the skin she was born in. She lowered her hand and discreetly switched on the camera behind the door.

"What are you doing?" He asked as she slinked towards him.

"I thought we could take our relationship to the next level." She whispered breathiliy as she began to nibbled his ear expertly, this wasn't her first time. Obviously.

Suddenly he pushed her off of him. He couldn't do it, not when her breath reaked of alcohol. He couldn't take advantage of her.

"You're drunk," He muttered. "I can't, not now."

And with that he dashed out of the room so fast that he almost bumped into someone walking down the hall.

"Sorry." He mumbled, not taking time to actually try to make it sound like he meant it.

Kai 

He was at the bar, knocking back whiskey shots when his partner realized that his girlfriend had left.

"Shit." His companion cursed. It was thirty minutes after that tawny-eyed girl left and he just noticed now. Kai rolled his eyes, _what an idiot, she's probably gonna dump him real soon. _"I gotta go man, my girl's gonna yell bloody murder but if I find her right now maybe she'll forgive me."

"It's cool man, good luck with that."

"Yeah, we'll continue this later man."

"Yup. YO by the way, what's your name?"

"Hitoshi Hakaru. You?"

"Name's Honjii-Mou Kai. Call me Honjii." He stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, again." He chuckled like it was the funniest thing in the world.

"Yeah." He shook his hand. "Later Honjii."

After Hakaru left, Kai realized that he really had to the bathroom. He ran upstairs. When he exited the washroom, he saw Syaoran running toward him. At first he thought he was going to rip him to shreds with his bare hands. But as he got nearer Kai saw that Syaoran looked like he'd seen a ghost. He was in such a rush that he said "Sorry," without breaking his stride or looking up.

Naturally, he was curious. He was drunk and had trouble even walking up the stairs, but he was still curious. He staggered down the hall to the door that was left slightly ajar. He pushed open the door and was met by the sight of a completely naked green-eyed angel. She didn't even seem to notice him until he gasped.

Jet 

Syaoran practically ran out of the room and she was left standing where he had pushed her off with her mouth open. She looked up at a sound, half hoping Syaoran changed his mind. She looked shocked at a very handsome young man standing in her doorway. She studied him for a minute, her eyes taking in his football player's build, sexy mouth and his eyes. Oh wow, his eyes. They were like looking into endless pools of swirling liquid gold or the dark side of the sun. After a minute her brain registered that she was _nude _in front a really hot someone. Her first instinct was to cover herself up and begin stuttering. But then she remembered how Syaoran had embarrassed her just now. She wanted revenge. So she sat back and let her lustful side take over.

She grabbed him and started kissing and pushing him towards the bed and undressing him at the same time. When he was as naked as he was, she pushed him on the bed and threw herself down on top of him, not noticing that red camera light was still on.

**A/N: So whaddaya'll think? Huh? Huh? Qwestions? Comments? Concerns? I'm SoOoO sorry it took me so long to update. Please don't forget to review with your opinions or whatever's on your mind. Luv ya'll. Hugz n Hearts. MWAH!**


	3. Seisure

Hey everyone! Thanks to all who reviewed, please keep doing so! Btw I changed my pen name to chibi angelle, sorry for and inconviniences, I just thought it was more me. Any ways… here's the next chappie…

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura.**_

Syaoran 

…Syaoran strode quickly down the hallway and was so intent on getting away from Jet he didn't realize he had just stepped into a spare bedroom and its current occupant was looking at him with question in her eyes. He started pacing about the room and started muttering something about 'unexpected, she didn't even ask if I wanted to,' Finally, Sakura could hold it in no longer. She burst out laughing. Anyone who knew Li Syaoran would have prayed for her soul because no one, absolutely _no one_ got off easy after laughing at him. But Syaoran just stared at her. And slowly, began to laugh.

"Ahahahaha…Syao, man you look hilarious." She gasped.

Suddenly a thought struck Syaoran. He stopped laughing and looked at her seriously. She took the hint and stopped laughing too.

"What's wrong Syao?" She said quizzically.

"Why aren't you enjoying the party?" It was then that he noticed how bone tired she looked.

"W-well, I…" Why was she up there? Oh yeah. Cause her best friend's bitch of a girl friend left to plan the party all by herself. But Sakura was far too nice to even think such a thing. "I'm very tired Syao." She let her eyelids droop a bit to emphasize her words.

"Oh. Well, you can't rest here. Come on, I'll take you home." Sakura grinned happily and tried to get out of bed but flopped back on the bed, exhausted. Then, without thinking, he picked her up off the bed and got a strange thrill in doing so. She tensed but realized that she was perfectly safe in Syaoran's arms. Having her in his arms was way more exciting than seeing a totally naked Jet. Little did he know, she felt exactly the same way. Minus the naked Jet part.

Katana 

Hearing loud moans and gasping breaths through the wall that separated her room and Jet's was the last straw for her. She didn't care if she had to walk, she just had to _leave._ She snatched up her purse and put on her most comfortable sneakers. She ran down the stairs and almost knocked over a sullen girl holding her drink.

"Oops, I'm so sorry." The girl turned around, her green streaks swaying with the movement. "Ayisha?" The two girls briefly hugged.

"What are you doing here?" They asked each other simultaneously, and laughed. "Well-" They both began.

"You first." Offered Katana.

"Well, Hitoshi was busy knocking back shots with some random guy at the bar and I was completely bored so, I grabbed a martini and was about to leave when you spilled it all over me." Ayisha summarized.

"Well, I can't really go far enough on foot and I can't use the car because of that tree thing and Jet's got someone in her room," She moved her eyebrows suggestively. "So, if I rather die of exhaustion trying to leave the grounds than listen to whatever's going on in that room."

"Ah, I see."

"Hey guys!" Exclaimed the ever-bouncy Sakura. Ayisha realized, though that her voice was laced with tiredness. She had known Sakura since grade 5 and they were pretty close, but not as close as her and Syaoran.

Katana's eyes widened as she saw that_ Syaoran_ was carrying her. '_What the hell?' _ She nearly screamed in disbelief. "If that's Syaoran…" She said weakly.

Ayisha seemed to have not noticed. No one had heard Katana and she didn't have the strength to repeat it.

"We're going over to Sakura's place, wanna come with?" Invited Syaoran.

"Sure, this party's a drag any ways. No offense Sakura," Ayisha added quickly.

"It's cool Ayisha, How 'bout you 'Tana?"

Katana could only nod 'yes'. "What's wrong?" She said noticing that she was paler than usual. Katana shook her head and shrugged it off. She would tell them later, there were too many unwanted listeners around here.

"Hang on I forgot my purse upstairs." And she ran up to go get it.

Five minutes and a short car ride later, they were at Sakura's apartment. She unlocked the door to let her friends in.

"Where's the food?" Katana said a bit loudly. She hadn't eaten a thing since this morning as she had refused to come down to the party.

"Shh, you'll wake up my mom. Speaking of which… I'm gonna go check on her." And Sakura left, tiptoeing down the hallway as usual.

"Okay, later then." Ayisha didn't even notice her friend left because she had found Sakura's Play Station 2 and started playing _'Kingdom Hearts 2' _, her favorite game.

"Um, Syaoran, how you weren't with Jet?" Katana asked. This question reminded Ayisha of Jet's supposed infidelity. Syaoran however, was kind of oblivious.

He told them that he couldn't find Jet at the party and Katana accepted this story easily. However, Ayisha heard the hesitation in his voice and was about to question him about to when a loud "HOE!" was heard from Avalon-san's room.

Katana and Ayisha dismissed as her falling. But Syaoran had known her for longer and he could practically see her panicking. He came running, with the other two not far behind.

"What is it Sakura?" Syaoran demanded.

"M-mom…" They looked at Avalon-san who was having a seizure on her bed, her eyes rolling convulsively.

"Call a freaking' ambulance!" He yelled at Katana and Ayisha, snapping them out of their reverie. Both girls jumped at his command. Neither of them had seen Syaoran so…_frantic_ before.

Twenty minutes later the ambulance arrived. They strapped Jade to the stretcher and wheeled her out of the apartment. Sakura followed them and Syaoran offered to ride in the vehicle with her, for moral support. She was crying hysterically in his arms, soaking the green sweater he was wearing. He tossed Ayisha his car keys and told Katana to stay far away from the driver's seat. She rolled her eyes, how did everyone know about that?

Hospital, The Next Day 

Sakura sat next to her mother's hospital bed, her eyes dry. There was nothing left in her to cry, so she sat, emotionless, impassive, beside her mother. The doctors had managed to stabilize her and she was resting at the moment. They had told her that the seizure was due to liver damage. The alcohol had destroyed her liver completely and Jade needed a liver transplant. Sakura resolved to talk to her mother about her habits and rehab when she woke up.

Syaoran stepped in the room followed by Katana, Jet and Ayisha. There were also two unknown people behind them. She didn't look up, feeling too drained to do so.

"Saki?" Jet flinched at the fact the way he said her name, so full of _Love? No! _She scolded herself silently. _Pity, it's pity that he's looking at her with. _But she was only fooling herself. She absentmindedly wondered why Sakura had a nickname and she didn't. Well, her name was already pretty short. Or maybe he didn't care about her enough.

"What?" Her voice was so monotone.

"There are people here to see you." She still didn't look up, preferring to stare forlornly at her unconscious mother.

"How ya doin' Saku?" _Saku? No one called her 'Saku' except… _

Slowly, she looked up. And found herself staring into a pair of concerned violet eyes. She smiled. "'Moyo!" She said in hushed tones.

She got up to hug her best friend. "What about me?" the second stranger asked, sounding slightly hurt. She turned and met a pair of bright crimson eyes. "Mei Mei!" She addressed Syaoran's older half-sister and Tomoyo's best friend.

"Call me Li-san." She joked.

"Oh, of course. Li-san." Jet frowned, why didn't she do that for her?

Mei Lin laughed, "Just kidding. That sounds so stuffy. Mei Mei works much better." The three of them giggled. While the rest looked on, completely lost. Syaoran cleared his throat. "Maybe we should let them catch up." And with that, they left. Sakura didn't even bat an eye in their direction.

After hours of catching up an awkward silence descended upon them. "H-how is she doing?" Tomoyo gestured to Sakura's mother, who was still resting peacefully.

Without warning, Sakura burst into tears. The two girls rushed to her side, comforting her and drowning her in sisterly hugs. "It's all my fault." She gasped between sobs. "I Sh-should've s-stopped her."

"it's not your fault." It was a statement. Sakura shook her head brokenly.

"I-it is, I knew the dangers of alcohol, and even though I didn't tell her to do it, I didn't even try to stop her. Th-that's why I've decided to donate my liver to her, 'cause we probably have the same blood type." She hiccupped. And stopped crying.

"You cant…" came the weak voice of Avalon Jade. Sakura looked at her mom and started crying and hugging her.

"It's okay mom, the doctor said it's perfectly fine. I'll be okay." Sakura didn't want her mother worrying about her.

"It's not that it's…" She pauses to look at Sakura's companions. Tomoyo and Mei Lin. They could be trusted. "You're not my biological daughter…"


	4. The Truth

Hey everybody, here's the next chapter. Thanks to all who reviewed, much love. Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura.

Rated for swearing.

"You're not my biological daughter." Jade said, somewhat feebly. The three of them gasped. "I'm sorry I never told you, I was going to. On your eighteenth birthday. Your father and I agreed. But I'm telling you early because…I might not make it." She whispered the last part as if the walls could hear them. This made Sakura cry even harder. Being told that your mother may not live right after finding out you were adopted was far too much for one person. Especially if that person was Sakura.

Suddenly Syaoran burst into the room. "What happened?" Without waiting for an answer he strode over to Sakura and wrapped a protective arm around her. Sakura leaned on him and soaked yet another sweater in so many days. Everyone just gaped at the couple. He was rubbing her back and making soothing sounds.

"How did you do that?" Mei Lin said, completely ignoring his question. He shrugged as if that answered everything.

Ayisha, Katana and Jet appeared at the door, clutching stitches in their sides and gasping for air. "What the hell Syao?"

Tomoyo, Mei Lin and even Jade snapped their heads up angrily. "Don't call him 'Syao', only Sakura is allowed to call him that." They ominously growled simultaneously.

"She earned the right and we're not going to let some little rich girl just stroll along and assume that she can him that too." Mei Lin added.

"Tell me what's wrong." He said to Tomoyo. She shook her head and looked pointedly in the direction of the girls at the door. Two of them looked trustworthy, but Syaoran's girlfriend had to go. He caught on immediately.

"Could you girls go to the waiting room please?" He said as calmly as possible since Sakura never cried unless it was something really disturbing.

Sakura looked at Katana and Ayisha and put on a brave smile, ignoring Jet completely. She nodded as if to say, 'I'll tell you guys later.' Jet waited at the door for Syaoran to give some sort of sign that he'd tell her later. She cleared her throat, big mistake. Mei Lin looked up at the sound.

"Didn't you hear what he said, girl?" She snarled, baring her teeth. "Leave!"

Jet looked taken aback. She glanced at Syaoran, waiting for him to defend her. He said nothing and didn't even seem to notice her presence. He was so intent on making Sakura stop crying, as if the very sound was a million times worse than a cat scratching a chalkboard. She smirked at the fact that brave Sakura was reduced to a sobbing child at probably nothing.

"Leave, please." Tomoyo was starting to get pissed off at this girl. That in itself was no easy feat. Tomoyo was easy-going and fun loving (…and a bit crazy), getting angry was something she did not do often. _Why can't she just go? This girl's just making Saku more upset. _Tomoyo looked up and saw that Jet was still there, staring at Sakura. She swore she saw a flicker of amusement in the brat's face. _That's it, this girl's going down._

"Look girl, just 'cause you're rich doesn't mean that the door won't hurt any less when your head goes through it. Leave. Now, before I get a chance to prove this." Mei Lin stared at her friend. Never, not in all the years they've known each other, had she seen Tomoyo this angry, let alone make threats with conviction.

Jet looked at the girl before, wondering if she could actually make good her threat. Then she looked at her eyes. Purple flames dancing, alighting her face with anger.

"W-well. I'll just…leave then." She said meekly, closing the door.

"Right then, here's what happened Li," She said, perfectly normally.

"I'll tell him," Sakura murmured. "I'm adopted Syao." He cast a worried glance at Jade, who nodded sadly. "But it's okay, because you're still my mom, you raised me, you loved me. So, no matter what, I love you." She told Jade. "Just one thing mom, who's my real parents?" Jade swallowed and looked down guiltily.

"Hang on, stop talking for a minute." Mei Lin got up and yanked the door open. "Didn't you hear what she told you, rich girl? When we told you to leave, we didn't mean 'get out of the room so you could listen behind the door' we meant LEAVE! Holy crap, I didn't know rich people were so freaking handicapped." She yelled at a crouching figure behind the door. She slammed the door. Then opened it again, kicked the person viciously with her black Prada stileltos and closed the door a second time.

"Okay, continue Avalon-san." She said to Jade.

She took a deep breath. "Well, your real mother was my sister. You look exactly like her. She got into some bad habits and got pregnant. When she had you, I told her that she couldn't raise a child while she was living like that. So I sent her to rehab. It took her a while, three years actually. Any ways when she came back, she was completely clean. She wanted you back, but over the years I grew very attached to you, loved you like my own. And I couldn't bear to part with you." She sighed and looked her 'daughter' straight in the eye, apologetically. "I'm very ashamed of what I did next." She trailed off, eyes lost in the painful memory of betraying her sister.

All eyes were on her. The silence was getting a bit uncomfortable. Syaoran cleared her throat.

"Hm?" Jade was snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, yeah. So I-I…" She floundered for words, wringing her hands in distress. "I-I I put up a restraining order against her, with her history of substance abuse, it was accepted. She became my adopted daughter but I never made it legal. A few years ago, the restraining order expired. But I never told her; she would've come to take you away. I just wanted you to know the truth before I die. You should find her my sister, give her my regards and tell how sorry I am. Her name was Nadeshiiko Kin-"

The door burst open, revealing Dr. Shobu. "Ms. Avalon, I'm sorry to interrupt but you need to rest. Also, visiting hours ended about an hour ago. I've left you alone as long as I can but now you really need to go to sleep."

"Oh, of course, doctor." Sakura said, getting up to leave. "I'll come back tomorrow okay, mom?" Jade smiled proudly, she was so loyal. Even though she knew what she'd done, she still called her 'mom'. "I love you." They told each other. And they left.

Meanwhile, in the Waiting Room… 

Katana and Ayisha went straight to the waiting room and started playing Crazy Eights, when Jet came in, looking extremely pissed. Katana shot her friend apologetic look, 'Sorry in advance for whatever my crazy sister is about to do.' She seemed to say. 'It's fine, no worries.' She smiled and shook her head, green streaks swaying. They both grinned, realizing that they just had a completely wordless conversation.

Jet sank into a chair next to Ayisha, who had her back turned to her. She rubbed her ribs where that crazy girl had kicked her. She let her eyes wander around the room when her gave landed on a certain golden-eyed cutie coming through the doorway, holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand. Their eyes connected and identical impish smiles appeared on their features. _'You should've defended me Syaoran.' _She thought to herself. She got up and walked over to him. _'Time to have some fun'_

"Hi, looking for me?" She said seductively.

"Hey," he leaned casually in the doorway. "Yeah." Lies. He had actually come to see Sakura, but he wasn't about to tell her that.

Katana and Ayisha 

Katana felt her friend tense across from her. Concerned, she looked up. Ayisha was staring with wide eyes at the doorway. Seeing her sister looking in the same direction she glanced over her shoulder. "What is it? Oh, you like him?" She teased. Ayisha didn't giggle, instead she looked at her friend with worried eyes. Jet had walked up to that guy.

"Remember when we were at that party at your house?" Her tone was serious, so Katana tried to concentrate on what she was saying. She nodded. "Remember what Jet was doing?" More nodding. "Well, when I went upstairs to get my purse, I saw who it was with. They left the door open. It w-was that guy." She pointed to the person Jet was talking to with a shaking finger. Katana's eyes widened.

"Are you sure?" She said slowly. She nodded. "How?"

"The hair." She whispered. "Oh my gosh, what are we going to do?"

"We gotta tell Li, he's got the right to know." Her voice was urgent.

"We're going to have to wait 'til they come out because I don't want to get them angry at us." She was so anxious about telling them that she almost ran up to her friend and hugged her. Jet had returned from her little 'adventure' with the mystery guy long ago and they were waiting in opposite corners, acting like they didn't know each other.

"Hey guys," Sakura said tiredly. "So sorry it took so long, mom was telling us…" She trailed off, seeing Jet coming towards them. She felt someone hug her from behind.

"How are you?" whispered a husky voice by her ear.

"Kai!" She exclaimed, hugging him.

Syaoran felt jealousy tug at his gut. He really hated this guy, for some unexplained reason.

Katana and Ayisha' s eyes widened even more. _'Uh oh.' _They thought simultaneously. At the same time, Tomoyo and Mei Lin's eyes narrowed, this guy was not to be trusted. Jet just seemed to be completely indifferent if not oblivious.

"We really need to talk." Katana told them all urgently. Panic flashed briefly across Jet's features, then she composed herself. Acting stupid she batted her eyelashes and said, "'Bout what 'Tana?"

The albino just looked at her sister in disgust, then jerked her head in Kai's direction. "I know about you, slut. You're a disgrace to our family sister." She spat coldly.

Sakura, Syaoran, Mei Lin and Tomoyo were just completely confused. "Well, that clears up everything then, doesn't it?" Snorted Mei Lin sarcastically.

"I think and more…detailed explanation would be nice." Tomoyo said politely.

"Well-" She was interrupted by a stern looking nurse who told them that they should leave before she them thrown out by security. Sighing frustrated, Katana lead them to the exit.

"But, um, I parked in the opposite direction." Kai was trying to get out of being caught.

"You're coming too, fucking bastard." And with that, Ayisha grabbed his ear roughly, dragging him after her.

Parking Lot 

"Alright, what's so urgent?" Syaoran really hated being kept in the dark.

"You're girlfriend is a cheat and liar." Katana spat. She received clueless looks from everyone. "Ever wondered what happened after we left?" She prompted.

"She screwed someone else when we left in a hurry," Ayisha clarified. She tugged hard on the boy's ear, pulling him forward. "With this son of a bitch."

Kai looked at Jet helplessly. Ayisha twisted his ear and he dropped his gaze. Jet stared sadly, almost apologetically at him. She had actually liked him, almost loved him. She was almost so full of guilt that she almost confessed everything and took the consequences responsibly. Almost. Or, she could save her sorry ass and take her revenge out on Sakura, who had more of Syaoran's affection than she did. She chose the latter. "He forced me to." Her eyes downcast, Jet was almost the perfect actress. Almost. Katana saw through it. "She's lying." She whispered to Mei Lin and Tomoyo who were standing a bit farther away. They nodded.

"He. Raped. You?" Syaoran looked murderously at Kai's cowering form. "Why didn't say something?" His gaze softened when it landed on Sakura and Jet, who were semiconscious of standing beside each other. His eyes grew cold when they returned to Kai. "Why you-" He raised his fist and was about to beat him into a bloody pulp when…

"STOP!" Sakura grabbed his arm, stopping him.

**THEY GOT CAUGHT! Uh oh, what's gonna happen now? Will Syaoran accept Jet's lie? Will Katana be able to convince him otherwise? Will Ayisha find out what happened to Hakaru after the party?** **Review and you may find out. Until then… (Swirls cape mysteriously disappears in a shower of butterflies shaped like cookies)**


	5. Kicking Ass

Hi…thanks to all who reviewed. Thank you so much for all my reviewers! This chapter is for my sister, who likes violence more than I do. This chapter's got a bit of swearing in it kiddies. I know I said that I was going to update on the weekend and I'm really sorry but my computer went wonky and I couldn't so… yeah. Sorry again.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. **

"STOP!" Sakura grabbed his arm, stopping him. Jet and Kai sighed with relief, for neither of them wanted Kai to get beaten up. Especially Kai.

All eyes turned to look at her blankly, but her emeralds were boring into amber. He quickly dropped his gaze, that's how intense her eyes burned. Like two miniature green suns. He nodded, granting her permission. She nodded and let go of his arm.

Everyone else was still clueless; they really hated it when Syaoran and Sakura had one of their telepathic moments because no one else knew what was going on.

Syaoran looked up and smirked sympathetically at Kai, his arms crossed and standing behind Sakura, giving her moral support. "You're gonna wish it was me, man."

Both Kai and Jet looked questioningly at Sakura, whose bangs were covering her face, obscuring her eyes. Suddenly she looked up and the anger was apparent in her beautiful features. She too smirked. But this was different from Syaoran's; it was actually _'scary'._ Thought Jet, Kai and Ayisha (who was still holding the boy's ear). The girls quickly skipped out of Sakura's charge range. Tomoyo gulped, she remembered how Sakura took a year off school to train with Syaoran in the mountains. When they had returned, she was even better than Syaoran, but not by much. She almost felt pity for the poor, cowering boy before her.

Sakura advanced toward her unfaithful boyfriend. He glanced at her uncertainly. She put her arms on his shoulders sympathetically and for a split second he thought that she was going to forgive him. He was proved wrong when she pulled him closer and kneed him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain, and she uppercut him in the face. She kicked the back of his knees, making him trip and kneel on the ground before her. "Fucking loser." She whispered into his ear. She jumped on top of him, using her knees to pin his arms and pummeled his face into the ground. She jumped off of him, catching her breath. He got up, having had enough; he decided that he should fight back. So when she neared, he threw his fist at her as hard as her could. She simply sidestepped the blow and twisted his arm behind his back so far that it dislocated, which was, of course what she was trying to do. She lifted his chin, which was dripping blood from his mouth. "You told me that you _loved_ me, that we'd be together _forever. _Consider us broken up, fucking bastard."

She grabbed his dislocated shoulder, digging her nails in. He yelped in pain.

"Katana, Ayisha" she turned to her friends, who seemed to be incredibly afraid of her. "Yes?" They asked tentatively. "Take this bastard into the hospital." She commanded, still cold. They jumped up and helped Kai into the hospital.

"Syao, take your girlfriend home." She ordered. Her friend nodded, knowing what was coming next. Jet stayed as far as physically possible away from Sakura and gave her boyfriend the keys to her sleek black Jaguar.

As soon as they left, she collapsed to the ground, crying uncontrollably.Tomoyo and Mei Lin enfolded her in a soothing group hug. She didn't care if she looked weak to them, they would never tease her about crying. She let all that pent-up emotion out, in the form of tears. She was soon bawling on the cold ground. Life was spiralling out of control; being adopted, her mother was dying, her boyfriend was a total and unbelievable jackass. Her world was in turmil and she didn't know what to do. She let it all out, and after a few minutes, she felt alotbetter. Her Bawling reduced to sobs, which bacame sniffles and then just little hiccups.

Soon, she stopped crying. "You alright now Saku?" Asked Tomoyo. "Yeah, I'm now. Thanks Moyo, thanks Mei Mei."

"No prob, kid." Mei Lin answered. "It was totally worth it to see you kick his ass. I wish I could watch that over and over again."

"And you can." The girls turned to Tomoyo, who had a malicious glint in her eyes. "I taped the whole thing." She smiled and her friends' sweat dropped at her. "I'll make a copy for all of you."

"Um, you guys?" Came a tiny voice behind them. Sakura leaped up and got into a fighting stance, she was still in her warrior mercenary mode. "I-it's just us." And Katana and Ayisha walked out of the darkness, holding each other and obviously really scared of this side of Sakura. She blushed and smiled reassuringly at them.

"Sorry you guys. I'm still inmy ass-kicking frame of mind, I do that when I get tense. It's a habit I got when I was training in China. Our sensei used to always sneak up on us and only give us a split second warning." Sakura apologized.

"It's okay." They replied, glad that she wasn't mad at them. No one spoke for a while. Ayisha was silently answering the question of where Sakura had gone for the whole of ninth grade.

"Hey d'you guys wanna come over to my house? I can make us a littledinner there." Tomoy offered. Everyone agreed and piled into her white Range Rover.

Syaoran and Jet 

She looked at her boyfriend, praying he would believe her. "Syaoran?" He didn't respond. "Baby? I'm sorry I didn't tell you because I was just so ashamed. Please forgive me." She said as sincerely as she could. He looked over at her and to her relief; he was smiling warmly at her. "Of course, I love you." Inside, Jet grinned maliciously. _How naive can one person be? _She reached for his hand and he took it gladly. "I love you too."

Daidoujii household 

The 'little dinner' that Tomoyo promised them turned out to be a huge feast and they all ate till they were stuffed. Then they went to watch a movie in Tomoyo's room, which somehow turned into a massive pillow fight. In the end, feathers were falling like rain all around them and everyone was out of breath. No one wanted to go home, so Tomoyo suggested they spend the night at her house. She lent them some of the really cute silk pajamas that she had designed last year.

They sat in a circle on the floor to play a game called 'Truth'. (One person asks another person and that person has to tell the truth, hence the name.) Tomoyo started, as she was the host.

"So, Katana." She addressed her new friend. "What's your most embarrassing habit?"

Katana blushed and looked down. "I pick my nose when I'm asleep, that's what Jet tells me." Everyone roared with laughter and she blushed even harder.

"Mei Lin-san,' Katana asked after the laughter died down. "What's the farthest you've ever gone with a boy?"

"I'm not a virgin." She said casually. Everyone present stared at her, awestruck. Mei Lin cleared her throat uncomfortably. She considered her question carefully."Sakura, do you have feelings for my little brother?"

Sakura blushed as she tried to think of a loophole in that question. "We're waiting." Mei Lin said impatiently.

"Well…" Sakura considered running, but it wouldn't work, Mei Lin was faster than she was. Ayisha cleared her throat and Sakura blushed even harder, looking red as a tomato. "Define 'feelings'…"

The girls squealed loud enough to wake the dead. "I knew it!" Ayisha declared triumphantly. "I knew it ever since the first day of school that you liked him! I could tell by the way you acted with him!"

"Kawaii!" Tomoyo screamed, pulling her video camera from its hiding place. Sakura let out a resigned sigh. At least she could trust them.

"You_ have_ to tell him, Saku." Tomoyo advised her friend.

"Yeah, or else he'll fall in love with Jet and you'll have missed your chance." Added Katana, who read romance novels because she'd never had a boyfriend before.

"Or she'll brainwash him into thinking that he loves her." Ayisha shuddered, disgusted that she even knew Jet.

"But, I don't know you guys." She sighed. "I mean, I can't wait for them to break up, what if they don't? I don't want to share him or be the other girl, I want to be the _only _girl, y'know?" She sweat dropped at Tomoyo, who was taping every moment of her confession. She was used to it so it didn't really bother her.

"So break them up." Suggested Ayisha but Sakura shook her head.

"I couldn't do that, I mean, she's really mean and all, but I wouldn't want them to break up because of something I did or said because then, even if I do get Syao, I'll spend my whole life wondering if he would've actually come to me if I hadn't manipulated him into doing it."

"So tell him how you feel." Katana told her quietly. She wished that someone would love her as much as Sakura loved Syaoran.

Sakura paused, remembering all the times she was around Syaoran, how he had always made her feel good. She wondered how long he'd been able to do that for her and she realized that she had always loved him. Since forever. A thought crossed her mind and it broke her heart from within. Unshed tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Her friends engulfed her in a huge group hug, wondering what was wrong. She barley noticed because in her mind, she was envisioning what would happen if she told him and he didn't feel the same. The very thought shattered her heart into a million pieces and she just cried while her friends tried to calm her down. Tomoyo sighed sadly, '_ven after all this time, she was still so very fragile. Physically she could kick ass but mentally? She's as fragile as a cherry blossom.'_After a while, she stopped crying. "What if he doesn't feel the same way?" She asked her friends.

"He does, trust me sweetie, he's my brother." Mei Lin reassured her, butSakura still looked doubtful. So she tried again.

"Have you ever seen the way he looks at you? With caring, emotion, _LOVE_. He looks nothing like that when he looks at any of us." She said, indicating the other girls in the room.

"And Jet?"

"He looks at her with lust darling, but not like how he looks at you. TRUST ME Sakura, he loves you too. He just doesn't know it yet."

"Alright, I'll tell him. But After I find out who my real parents are."

"Why?" Ayisha asked, puzzled.

"I'm not sure, it just might help me feel better that way." Sakura yawned. "Well, I'm tired you guys. Good night."

"Good night." They replied, turning off the lights.

**The Next Day, Hospital.**

Sakura sat vigilantly beside her mother in a chair. She was so tired; maybe she could just take a short nap…

Jade Avalon woke up to see Sakura with her head on the bed, snoring softly. She moved her hands from out of her daughters, because Sakura was starting to drool on her. Sakura stirred but did not wake up. Jade felt so guilty, she was so selfish, becoming an alcoholic like that. Still, she had a good reason…

Sakura woke up, snapping Jade out of more painful memories.

"How you doing mom?" She slurred, as she was still half- asleep.

"I good love. How are you? Did you sleep okay? Have you had breakfast?" Over the years she had become Sakura's mother and felt the need to ask these questions.

"Good, yes and yes." She answered all the questions easily.

"Then what's bothering you?"

"Kai cheated on me."

"I thought you two already broke up?"

"We got back together and broke up again."

"How did you know he was cheating on you?"

"He did it with Syaoran's girlfriends and her sister told me."

"I see." Jade leaned back on her pillows, Sakura was so young and already she was having her heart broken. She sighed. She didn't really want to discuss this with her daughter; it might affect her too much. This was something she would've discussed with her sister or friends.

If her sister was still talking to her.If she hadfriends. Jade sighed, her life was so empty, so hollow, how could she have ever thought that taking Sakura to raise her was ever a good idea?

"Mom?"

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"I hope you don't mind me asking, um, what, I mean, that is, I was wondering…"

"You're stuttering Sakura."

"Why did you become and alcoholic?" She blurted out. Jade looked surprised. That's what she was just going to tell her.

"I mean," Sakura corrected herself. "You were a famous model, lots of money caring husband," Jade flinched but Sakura didn't notice. "A nice house, me, why did you do it? Were you not happy with me?"

"No, baby. Never think it was because of you. It wasn't. Hmmm, I better start from the beginning. It was about a year ago…

"I doing a photo op in China but we got to go home early and I wanted to surprise your father with a nice big meal.

"I went straight to our room so I could change and not get my good clothes dirty. However when I got there…I" Her voice cracked and she tried so hard to hold back tears that were threatening to fall. Sakura hugged her mother, not knowing what else to do.

"It's okay let it out." She consoled her as tears streamed down her face and fell onto the bedspread, soaking it.

"He was doing it with a model that I worked with!" Shegestured wildly, expressing her emotions. "I caught them, in _OUR_ bed, in _our _house, screwing each other's brains out." She cried in angst. "But I just loved him so much I couldn't bear to let him go. So I turned a blind eye, pretending I couldn't see, that I didn't know. I accepted his lie that it was his cousin and he lent him the house so that the girl would think he rich.

"But one day he came home with lipstick smeared all over his clothes, smelling like Chanel" She paused to dry her eyes on the sheet. "And it was the last straw for me. I told him that I knew, that he would have to choose between her and me. And he chose…" She couldn't continue it was still so heartbreaking for her.

"He chose her." Sakura quietly finished her sentence for her. _'So that's what happened. I wish I could just take away her pain.'_

"He doesn't know what he's missing, mom. He chose wrong."

Jade looked gratefully at her daughter. "Thank you, honey."

"Any time." Sakura tried to smile for her. _'How could he leave like this?'_ She cursed her 'father' everything she could think of.

"So, like I was trying to tell you yesterday," she licked her chapped lips. "Honey, could you get me some lip gloss? My lips are so dry." After her lips were soft enough for her satisfaction. "Your real mother, and my sister. Her name is Kin-"

They were once again interrupted by aloud banging at the door. "I'll get it." She pulled open the door to reveal…

"Dad," gasped Sakura.

**A/N OMG! it's her DAD! wow, im keeping myself in suspense, I have no idea what's gonna happen next. LOL. Dont you hate Jet? And Syaran... a little? I mean really? Why is her so stupid? oh yeah...hahaha i made him like that. Oh well. I'll try to fix it, i promise. C'mon now you guys, REVIEW! you know you wanna. (Wiink Wiink)**


	6. A Visit From Dad

**Hey everyone! Yeah, I'm back… you didn't miss me? FFINE! Be like that. Maybe I won't update soon….lol just kidding. Anyways. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Special thanks to 2 OVERLY obsessed and Ginnezu for their constant reviewing. Anyway I'm sorry for not updating sooner… I had a bit of writer's block and I couldn't think of what else to write, but I'm here now. So…without further distractions... OOH a PUPPY! (reader sweat drops) Here's the story…**

**Disclaimer: Kris stops petting the super cute puppy long enough to look up and say; "I own nothing." And continues playing with aforementioned unnaturally kawaii Maltese puppy dog.**

"Dad," gasped Sakura. "What…are you doing here?" she said, trying to act natural.

Avalon Jon was of medium height, brown curls and wore square-ish glasses. Most women would say he was very handsome, but at the moment, Sakura could see nothing special about him. In fact, she felt the anger and hate bubbling up inside of her. Only her training stopped her from smacking him, this horrible creature who had broken her mother's heart.

Behind her, Sakura heard Jade gasp and then start hyperventilating. Sakura stepped forward and gave her father an awkward hug. Jon looked up at Jade, only to see her breathing into a paper bag. Concerned, he went over to her bedside and put a hand on her shoulders.

"Jade, darling are you okay?" Jade inwardly shuddered, how dare he just walk in here and call her 'darling'. She disgustedly swatted his hand away and returned her attention to her paper bag. After a minute or so, she could breathe normally. She looked up, seeing her daughter's concerned orbs staring at her from where she stood at the door, equally disgusted at her 'father's' pathetic attempt of keeping up appearances so that it looked like he still cared about Jade. Jade smiled at Sakura, motioning that she needed to talk in private with her husband. Still shocked at the truth about her father, Sakura just stood there, rooted to the spot like a mouse before a viper. Hypnotized by the sight before her. _'how can she just sit there and be so calm?'_ She asked her self. Getting impatient, Jade cleared her throat loudly and said, "Sakura, sweetie cam you get me some water?"

Snapping back to reality, Sakura nodded dumbly and left the room, leaving the door open a crack so she could eavesdrop when she returned with the water. She walked through the hallway, dazedly like a lost child. She wasn't really paying any attention to where she was going so she tripped over someone's feet.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She apologized, looking at the stranger. The girl had vibrant blue eyes and long, straight black hair. She appeared to be about a year or two older than Sakura. The girl looked as if she was about to snap at her but a look of recognition passed through her features and she relaxed a little.

"It's fine," she said, her smile a bit forced. "It was my fault." The girl was so obviously fake that even Sakura noticed. This made her suspicious, though she wondered why someone would try to be nice to her, she didn't even know this girl. "I'm Honjii-Mou Chia, by the way." The girl stuck out her hand.

"Sakura." She replied, shaking Chia's hand. _'Why is she so familiar? Where have I seen her before?' _"Have we met before?" Sakura asked.

The girl looked a bit uncomfortable. "Uh, no I don't think so."

"Are you sure? What do you do for a living?"

"Well, right now I'm in college, but I do some freelance modeling to pay for my tuition. Maybe you've seen me on tv?"

"I might've, what have you done?"

"Well, I did commercials for a makeup line, you may have heard of it. It's for an American company called 'Maybelline.' (a/n I don't known this either.)"

"Oh yes, my mother used to model for that company. Maybe you worked with her. Her name was Avalon Jade." Chia stiffened but covered it up with an insecure smile.

"Nope, I'm sorry. I don't think I knew her."

"Alright, well I gotta go, I need to get something for the cafeteria."

"Okay, nice meeting you."

**Jade and Jon**

"So, how's Chia?" Jade asked sarcastically.

"She's…good." Jon replied casually.

"I see."

"I want you to meet her." Jon said suddenly.

"Why? So I can see that I lost you to a better woman? So that I can give you my blessing and you two can waltz out of her with lighter hearts? I don't think so, Jon that will never happen." She leaned her head back and closed her eyes so that he couldn't see them. They were watery and she didn't want him to see just how much she loved him still.

"Fine." He said. "Fine, whatever. I came here, to give you a chance to apologize to me. But if you won't then-"

"_Me _apologize to _you_! Have you been smoking the cheap stuff! What the fuck are you talking about? You cheated on me, what do I have to apologize for?" She was so shocked at what he was telling her. "How the fucking hell is this my fault!" All the hate, rage and anger that she had suppressed was coming out now, oozing from her before she could stop herself.

"Well," Jon shot back "Why would I even consider doing that unless you neglected me! You were never home, and when you were you were tired and we could'nt _do _anything."

"Oh, so you're saying you cheated on me because you weren't getting any is that right?" She summarized.

It suddenly hit him just how flimsy that argument was. "W-well…"

"Exactly! That's exactly it. That is so sad you know? I have absolutely NO idea why I ever loved you, you filthy piece of conceited shit! Get the hell away from me! I never want to see you ever again. DOCTOR! NURSE! Somebody help!" She screamed, feeling herself getting faint.

Sakura 

She returned from the cafeteria, carefully carrying the paper cup of water that she had gotten for her mother. She suddenly noticed that Dr. Shobu and Nurse Aika were running towards her mother's room. Forgetting her earlier request for water, she threw the cup aside and dashed in after them.

When she entered, the room, she saw Dr. Shobu trying to give her a sedative, which turned out to be a difficult task as she was still arguing with her father, who, like a complete idiot argued back. This continued until Sakura stepped forward and said "Jon get the hell out, _now._" Both of her foster parents suddenly stopped yelling at each other and stared at her, completely dumbstruck. Dr. Shobu took this opportunity to inject the needle into Jade's i.v. tube.

"I want a divorce you jackass, doctor, please call me a lawyer please." Jade's speech became tipsy and slurred as the sedative kicked in. She started to giggle happily and mumbled something about angels and stars to Nurse Aika who listened patiently and nodded repeatedly.

"Don't talk to me that way, young lady." Jon hissed at Sakura.

"Why?" Sakura looked at him angrily. "Or else what are you gonna do to me?"

"How dare you speak to me like that! Have you no respect for your-"

"Father?" She cut in, angry. "Not even, I bet you don't even know who my father is. You stupid idiot."

Jon looked absolutely confused. "I thought I was your father?"

"Not even, you just some sad replacement."

Jon looked between Sakura and Jade, making a connection. "You did it too!" he yelled accusingly at Jade. "You cheated on me too!"

"No I didn't, you incompetent asshole," Jade murmured sleepily. "I'm not her mother. She Nadeshiiko's remember?"

"She…what?" Jon looked so absolutely lost it was funny.

"I'm not your daughter, dipshit. Wow, you're a bit slow, aren't you? I'm glad I'm not actually your daughter." Sakura taunted. For Jon, this was enough. He seriously hated the tone of voice she was using at him. He raised his hand, ready to slap her.

The sound of the impact of fist hitting skull resounded through the entire hospital.

**Oh crap did he actually hit her? Damn this is so annoyiing! And why doesn't she know her real parent's names yet? I'm sorry this chappie is so short, please don't hurt me (Kris coweres in corner). Ahahaha bet you can't say _that _five times fast. Anyways, please review and I swear I'll update sooner. 'kay then, bye for now. -hearts chibi angelle hearts-**


	7. Meeting Xishi

**I LOVE YOU GUYS! Yay! I'm soo happy so many people reviewed this time! Yay! Party at that guy's house! (points at innocent bystander as he gets trampled by the readers of this story, look of guilt crosses Chibi's face) Oops…sorry mister… um, drinks on me?**

**Disclaimer: The poor guy sits up, his glasses broken and already screwed up hair looking like a dead possum perched upon his crown. He glares at me, "You don't and won't own anything thing in this town ever again!" He pulls a meat cleaver from his hair (which I discover is actually a hollowed-out possum for hiding meat cleavers in) and chases me around for a while.**

**Two hours later**

**puff here's chapter seven, enjoy… faints of exhaustion**

The sound of the impact of fist hitting skull resounded through the entire hospital. Jon was about to slap Sakura when she gave him a right hook that would've K.Oed a pro-boxer. Jon fell over, a huge purple and black bruise already showing on the side of his face. Sakura was wearing the ring Syaoran had given on her twelfth birthday, so that in the middle of the huge bruise, there was a heart-shaped imprint. Jon stared at Sakura with terrified eyes. Clutching at his cheek, he scrambled out of the room.

Sakura strode over to her mother's bed. "So, is she going to be okay?" She asked Dr. Shobu. He gazed at her intently, as if studying her features. She suddenly realized how young he looked; he was probably about the same age as her mother, somewhere in his mid-thirties. He had penetrating, kind gray eyes and short black hair. _'Hm, he's kind of handsome…'_

"She's stabilized, she'll be okay now, as long as that guy stays away from her. I suggest you get a restraining order against him." He suggested.

"Thank you doctor. I'll go to the police station on my way to the lawyer's firm down the street. Would it be okay if you watched over her for a while?" She was very reluctant to leave her mother all alone but she had to do this so that both and her mother could breathe easily and not be worried about Jon coming near them ever again.

Sakura was almost halfway out the door when her mother called her back. "Sakura…your real mother, her name is Kinomoto Nadeshiiko."

"K-Kinomoto Nadeshiiko?" The sound her name held a ring of familiarity, hearing it made her remember all the good things in life, chocolate cookies and bright sunny days… And that was all she remembered before everything went black.

She was lying down on a soft pillow that smelled like spices and sandalwood. Her pillow moved rhythimically, up and down, up and down. _'Pillows don't usually move, do they? Did I sleep so long that I ended up in the future and I'm sleeping on a future pillow! Wow that's so cool. I wonder what the future looks like…'_

She opened her eyes and realized that it was not a pillow from the future, as she originally thought, but Syaoran, her best friend. He was lying down beside her. The door opened someone came in. It was Nurse Aika.

"Hello Miss…ah Kinomoto was it?" Sakura smiled and nodded. "How are you feeling? Your boyfriend came in within five minutes of you fainting; he was very worried about you and started panicking so we had to give him a sedative. We don't have many empty beds in the hospital so we figured it was okay for him to be next to you." She smiled at the couple.

"Oh thank you Nurse Aika but…he's not my boyfriend." The nurse looked puzzled and said "Oh! I'm sorry, I'll just remove him then…"

"He's my best friend, not boyfriend." Sakura corrected. The nurse's expression cleared up a bit but she still looked confused.

"Then why are you…?" She pointed at them and Sakura blushed. Her head was against his chest and his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. She had her arms around his torso and both of their legs were intertwined. She tried to move but he held onto her tightly and she didn't want to wake him. "It's okay, I'll just be going now." Nurse Aika said before closing the door behind her.

Sakura didn't know what to do, and she was so exhausted from today's excitement she just buried her head in his chest and went back to sleep.

Syaoran

When he woke up, it was dark outside and he was holding onto something warm. He blushed furiously as he remembered that it was Sakura. He tried to move without waking her, but every time he did, she stirred. He sighed. He could just imagine Tomoyo and her evil camera taping them, he even swore her heard a quiet "Kawaii!" from somewhere in the room. He looked up, straight into the blinking red light that proved that Tomoyo actually _was _in the room. The memories flooded back to him…

Flashback

Tomoyo and Mei Lin dragged Syaoran along with them to go shopping for a get-well-soon present for Avalon-san. They were in the toy store; looking at super cute stuffed animals to go with the flowers they had bought when Syaoran had stiffened suddenly. His eyes went hard and concentrated for a moment before realizing it was Sakura. He started panicking and he forced himself to calm down. He grabbed his half sister's arm.

"Imotou-san (a/n did I even spell that right?), something's wrong with Saki." He said urgently. She was about to tell him to stop faking and trying to get out of shopping when she looked at his face. He was dead serious. "We have to go to the hospital. _Now._" Mei Lin decided to wait until later to tease him about it.

"Moyo, we gotta go to the hospital, little brother says something's wrong with Sakura." The girls looked over at Syaoran, who was pacing like a caged lion and exchanged worried glances.

"Alright let's go." Tomoyo nodded. It was only about five minutes and a half from the mall to the hospital in Tomoyo's Range Rover but to Syaoran, it seemed like an eternity. He kept fidgeting in the back seat and playing imaginary drums on his lap Mei Lin finally turned around and said, "Look, we know you love her alright? Just stop fidgeting before I turn this car around so you won't be able to save your girlfriend." Syaoran was a bit lost; he wasn't really listening because he was so worried. He did, however catch the words 'save your girlfriend'. "But, it's Sakura in the hospital, not Jet."

Mei Lin sighed and threw up her hands. "Wow, um okay I know this is going to be totally pointless but I'm going to try any ways. Are you listening?" He looked at her and nodded. "Good. Syaoran, everyone believes that it should be you and Sakura together, not that stupid rich cow Jet."

"But, I love Jet and she loves me. She even said so." He replied, sounding like a little kid who was trying to prove you wrong.

"She loves Kai."

"Then why did he rape her?"

"Syaoran, you idiot he didn't, she was just saying that so you wouldn't dump her. _Think _Syaoran if Sakura and Jet were trapped in a burning building, who would you save?"

"I-I would save…" He faltered. He would save Sakura, of course. _But why? Jet was his girlfriend_. Screamed his mind in protest. He felt guilty because he was supposed to love Jet, not Sakura. Jet was his girlfriend, Sakura was just his friend. Luckily, Tomoyo pulled up on front of the hospital, saving Syaoran from answering Mei Lin's awkward question and reminding him that something was wrong with Sakura. He raced upstairs, not bothering to wait for his sister and Tomoyo. He burst into Avalon Jade's room and saw Sakura lying on the ground. "What happened?" Without waiting for an answer knelt down beside her and started shaking her tiny form frantically, muttering something like: 'please don't be dead'. Nurse Aika was afraid he might break her neck with all that shaking so she gave him some sedative and he began to drift asleep, pulling Sakura close into a protective hug and glaring at all the men in the room before relaxing and letting himself fall asleep.

Tomoyo and Mei Lin ran into the room just as Syaoran pulled Sakura into his arms and started falling asleep. "Kawaii!" squealed Tomoyo, going all starry-eyed and pulling her evil camera out and filming her best friends as they slept on the floor. A man, who Tomoyo recognized as Dr. Shobu said, "Who is this young man?"

Thinking quickly, Mei Lin answered, "It's her boyfriend, doctor."

Tomoyo grinned evilly. "Yes, they're very close."

The doctor sighed and said, "Well, we'd better put them in a bed, then. It's going to be hard because the hospital is so full, they might not be able to be in the same room as each other."

"They could share a bed, doctor." Tomoyo suggested, her expression unchanging.

The doctor gave it a moment's thought then gave consent. "Alright, as long as you two girls are there to watch them and make sure they don't do anything wrong,"

"Of course, doctor." Answered Mei Lin, her expression matching her friend's.

End Flashback

He looked down at the sleeping beauty in his arms. As he brushed away her bangs from her eyes, they opened. They looked around the room before resting on the masculine form of her best friend in front of her. She smiled and blushed, remembering how they were positioned and what Nurse Aika thought of them. He blushed too, remembering that he was still holding her and that Tomoyo was still taping them. It took every bit of self-control he possessed to not kiss her. Even so, it was not enough. His lips traveled toward her, seemingly of their own accord. Then, landed on her forehead.

"How are you doing?" He whispered softly, so that Tomoyo could not hear.

"I'm okay. How about you? Nurse Aika came in and told me that you went crazy when you came in." She paused to giggle. "She said they had to give you a shot or something. Why are we whispering?"

"Well, because Tomoyo and her evil camera are right behind you. Also, I'm okay. I was just worried about you."

"Aw, Syao that's so sweet of you. But really, I'm fine. I just fainted because…" She trailed off, momentarily forgetting why she had fainted in the first place. "My mother's name is Kinomoto Nadeshiiko." She said loud enough for Tomoyo and Mei Lin to hear.

A collective gasp was heard around the room. After a moment's pause Tomoyo burst into (seemingly) uncontrollable squeals and giggles. The room's other occupants stared at her blankly, sweat dropping at their friend.

"Um, Moyo? What is it?" Sakura asked, a little tentatively.

"Sakura! Omigosh Sakura! I thought you knew! Kinomoto Nadeshiiko, as in _Aunt Nades _from my party last year, remember?"

Sakura blinked in response. "Huh?"

"My Aunt Nades! She's my mom's best friend since forever, remember at the party, we were playing truth and it was like 'what's the most tragic thing that ever happened to you?' and she was like 'I lost my daughter to someone I thought I could trust'. She had this super intense sad look on her face and I swear she was looking right at you, I didn't get it then but I understand now." Tomoyo explained, bubbling with more excitement than a kid on their birthday.

"So…do you think she knows that I'm her daughter? And, if she did then…why didn't she come to me?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"Oh, I didn't mean… no that's not what I was saying Saku, she must've wanted to but…" Tomoyo gave Mei Lin and Syaoran a look, silently pleading them to help her out. But they both remained silent.

"The restraining order…maybe she thought…" Mei Lin suggested, making Sakura's eyes spark with hope.

"So…maybe she does love me after all…" No one answered her, but she didn't expect them to, she was talking to herself. "If I tell her at the end of the week, I could tell him the day after…" She stopped muttering to herself when she realized whose arms she was in. "HOE! When did you get there Syao?"

"Tell who what Saki?" He gazed into her soft, emerald eyes, trying to discern who she was talking about from her expression, but all he could see was him, the way she looked at him. Somehow he knew that she was talking about him. What would she need to tell him? What could she possibly not be able to tell him right here, right now?

Sakura blushed furiously, turning red as the inside of a ripe watermelon. Thinking quickly of a way to escape Syaoran's bear hug, she said, "Um, Syao? I really, really have to pee, so if you could just-"

"Let you go?" Syaoran finished her sentence for her, looking like a tomato with brown hair and sexy eyes. "Sure."

He released her, and she wished he'd held on just a little longer, she felt naked without his arms around her. In her haste to get out of bed _(a/n which I definitely wouldn't have done considering Syaoran was in it and those hospital beds are pretty narrow…)_ she tripped on Tomoyo's chair and fell flat on her face. "Ow…" She said, peeling her face off the white linoleuom. Remembering that she needed to pee, she sprinted to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

When the door closed Mei Lin leaned closer to her half-brother. "Still think you don't love her more than Jet?" She leaned back, amusing herself with the spluttering sounds of protest Syaoran was making. "I thought so.

Once again, he was saved from answering her question as Sakura exited the small washroom changed and looking refreshed. "Dinner time guys, my treat." She said.

"Going somewhere?" asked Nurse Aika, when she saw the four of them leaving the room.

"Nurse Aika, would it be okay if I went out for a little while? I mean, I feel fine now and I just fainted, nothing life-threatening or anything like that. Also, I need to carry out mom's requests." Sakura explained, hoping she could go.

"Sure, sweetie. Just sign this release form and you can go on your way."

They walked down the street because the lawyer's firm was only about a block from the hospital where her mom was. Her first stop was the police station.

Sakura entered and walked up to the nearest police officer with her friends in tow. He was about her age, with spiked dark hair and shocking electric blue eyes. He was reading a comic book and eating a jelly donut, looking like a little kid in a uniform. "Officer?" he looked up, a look of kindness crossed his handsome chiseled features. Syaoran growled quietly beside his sister. "Um, I was wondering, how would you put a restraining order up against someone?"

"Well, you would have to have a good reason and it costs about fifteen bucks but that's about it. Why? Is someone bothering you, miss…?" His eyes were kind and caring.

"Kinomoto Sakura, and no, it's for my mom. You see, she's in the hospital and she's trying to divorce her husband. He hasn't really done anything yet but he came to visit today and her blood pressure was raised and the doctor's said he should never come near again, it's too risky for her health."

"I see Miss Kinomoto," he said sympathetically. "Well, that is definite grounds for a restraining order." He pulled a bunch of papers from a nearby filing cabinet. "Just sign here, and here…"

Fifteen minutes later, she was done and had a laminated piece of paper in her wallet. "Thank you so very much Officer…"

"Dimma Xishi, call me Xishi. And it was my pleasure Miss Kinomoto."

Sakura blushed, _'Wow, he's so polite.' _"Oh, you can call me Sakura…Xishi."

He smiled a bit flirtaciously at her. "Of course, Sakura. Well, here's my number in case you're in any trouble, day or night. I'll come. Oh and I better out my cell phone too." He took out a pen and scribbled on a business card and handed it to Sakura. She smiled and turned to leave and paused at the door.

"Thanks…Xishi." She smiled and left, with Syaoran steaming behind her.

The weather was cool and Sakura was shivering so Syaoran put a brotherly arm around her. She smiled up at him but was still thinking about a certain hot police officer. They spotted the lawyer's firm and went in.

15 minutes later

Fifiteen minutes later Sakura and her friends left the building with smiles and happy hearts. The secretary said they would send a lawyer to her mother's hospital room tomorrow as they were all busy at the moment. Sakura led them to a quaint little restaurant that she loved to go to.

No one spokle for a while. Finally, a waiter came to seat them. They got a table by a window. Sakura loved the view so she took a seat next to it. Tomoyo sat next to her and Mei Lin sat in front of Tomoyo, giving Syaoran the remaining seat beside the window and in front of Sakura. The waiter handed them all menus and asked if they would like anything to drink.

"I'll have a pina colada, please." The girls ordered in unison. They looked at each other and giggled. The waiter looked inquiringly at Syaoran.

"Just water for me, please." Everyone looked at him, shocked. "What? Someone's gotta drive." They laughed again and the waiter left.

"So…what did you guys do today?" Sakura asked, making small talk.

"We went shopping." Replied Mei Lin.

"All of you? Together?" She said, incredulously looking at Syaoran.

"Yes, I came with them too." Syaoran answered the implied her question.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Sakura was rolling around on the ground, clutching her stomach. After about a minute, she straightened up and sat on her chair. Syaoran cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Well, just the idea of you…shopping, trying on lingerie and pink hats…" She struggled to get her giggles under control, but burst when the other two girls started laughiong too. Syaoran was spared from any more teasing when their drinks came.

They ate their meal in silence, except for the occasional 'pass the salt Syao' or 'Saku, get your elbow out of my soup!'

After the meal, while the waiter was getting their bill. Syaoran stared intensely at Sakura, memorizing her features, they way she held herself, the way she spoke, the way she lighted up a gloomy room just by walking into it. He turned his head when he saw Mei Lin turn to look at him, hoping she didn't see anything. But she did, sighing, she returned to her conversation with Sakura and Tomoyo. _'Why does he have to be so stubborn?'_ She thought to herself.

"Saki," Syaoran said suddenly.

"Yes, Syao?" She tensed, knowing he was about to warn her about the police officer.

"I don't trust that Dimma guy. He looks untrustworthy." Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Syao, you say that about everyone except the people who actually hurt me. You said nothing about Kai, you're the one who set me up with him, remember? You said nothing about Jet, who always gives me cut eye and hurts me every other way than physically. You warned me about Mei Lin, Ayisha and even Kero. But you were wrong every time, you act like my brother, but you're not. And that's your problem, you don't even acknowledge the fact that I kicked Kai's ass all by myself to you, I'm just someone you protect, like I can only like the people who say I can. But, if I did, I'd be living a pretty shit life right now. So if you could please just stop making judgements about people because I can do that on my own. So if you'll excuse me…" She didn't intend to tell him off, but it just came out. She stoode up put her hands on the table, cartwheeled over everything on it and landed an her feet beside the table. She silently apologized to Tomoyo and Mei Lin and threw the money on the table. She turned to leave. "Sakura..." Syaoran called weakly after her. He attempted to follow her but the restaurant was so croweded that by the time he got out, she was long gone and the waiter had already returned with their change. Mei Lin and Tomoyo glared at him. "well, what do you have to say for yourself?" His sister scolded.

"Why didn't you move? I coud've gotten to her sooner!"

"Why didn't you do what she did?"

"I cant…"

"Why do you do these things Syaoran? She can take care of herself."

"I don't know…" '_It's because you love her' part of his brain answered him. He shoved that part to the back of his mind._

The Next Day

Hospital

Jade and Sakura were just finalizing the divorce plans with the lawyer when Syaoran came in. When the lawyer left, he walked up to Sakura. "Saki-"

"I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday, it's just my nerves." She cut him off. He nodded and smiled. She hugged him.

"Saku!" Tomoyo burst in, interrupting their kawaii moment. They looked at her cautiously, but saw no camera.

"Kawaii!" Screamed Mei Lin, doing a perfect Tomoyo imitation, complete with the evil camera. Everyone burst out laughing.

"Sup Moyo?" Asked Sakura.

"Your mom! I know where she lives!"

"Where?"

"930 Chisai Lane. It's the house with cherry blossoms in the front, you can't miss it."

But Sakura hesitated and looked at Jade. "It's alright sweetie, I knew this day would come. Show this to Nades so she knows that you really are her daughter. Tell her…that I'm sorry. She probably won't forgive me but…" Jade pressed a small emerald ring into her daughter's hand. She licked her lips. Her voice was as dry and cracked as the desert. "Tell her that my dying wish is that she attend my funeral." She started crying.

"No, mom…don't cry…I'll find a donor, someone, anyone…I'll find them. I-I'll be back…"

Jade just nodded and wiped her eyes on her bedsheet.

Chisai Lane

Sakura borrowed Tomoyo's Range Rover and was driving down Chisai Lane, she was so frustrated. All the houses had cherry blossom trees in front of them. Finally, she spotted a cute little house that had the number 930 in front of it. She parked in front of it and walked up to the door.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. Nothing happened. Sighing, she turned to leave. She was five steps away whenthe door opened. "Can I help you?" Asked a woman from inside her house.

Sakura turned around and gasped. The woman looked exactly like Sakura imagined herself looking about twenty years from now.

"Um, you may not know me but…I'm your daughter."

**Hey you guys! Whew…thirteen pages… this is my longest chapter yet. REVIEW! You know you wanna. (wink) Does any one know what I should name this chapter? I need help…I'm kinda stuck what do you want to happen in the next chapter? R n R. Ja ne, Chibi.**


	8. You're not my mom?

"Um, you may not know me but…I'm your daughter." Sakura stood with her head bowed in respect, expecting some surprised reaction or another. She looked up to see the woman staring at her in amusement.

"Nani?" She asked curiosly.

"You are Nades' child correct, my dear?" Sakura nodded. "Nades is my sister and she has gone away on a business vacation."

"A business vacation?"

The woman chuckled softly. "She was sent to Tahiti by her boss in hopes of her finally relaxing, but all she can do is work, work and more work."

"Oh, I'm sorry to bother you then Miss…"

"Oh, come now child, call me auntie. I am Miashiiko, the oldest of us three. Jadeshiike is the second oldest and Nadeshiiko is the youngest."

"Who is Jadeshiike?" Sakura wondered out loud.

"Your foster mother."

"NANI? I thought her name was Jade."

"No, her birth name was Jadeshiike, but then she ran off to become a model and thought she was better than all of us, so she changed her name so that it was nothing like ours. And _then _she had to steal Nades' baby and make her drug/drinking problem worse instead of better." Miashiiko spat with disgust.

"But Auntie Miashiiko-"

"Call me Auntie Mia, dear, even I know that Miashiiko is too long a name." She laughed again.

"Auntie Mia," she corrected. "Mom-I mean-Aunt Jade is sorry, she really is you should see her now, she's so full of regret."

But Miashiiko did not believe her, she just shook her head disbelievingly. "You must come see her, please Auntie."

"I cannot my dear, I apologize. Nades will return in the middle of June, come back to see her then." She said, closing the door.

"She's dying!" Sakura yelled out of pure desperation. The door opened once more.

"What did you say?" Miashiiko narrowed her sapphire eyes.

"Aunt Jade, sh-she's d-dying…" Sakura broke down in tears, even though Jade betrayed her family and royally screwed up all her relationships and even thought she wasn't really Sakura's mother, Jade had raised her and Sakura couldn't bear it if she died. She flopped down on the wooden porch, crying uncontrollably. As her sobs began to cease, she felt her aunt's arm around her, drawing her into a comforting hug.

"What's wrong with her?" Mia asked after Sakura's tears had stopped falling.

"Liver failure, from all the alcohol she consumed when Jon cheated on her."

"Now she knows how it feels…"

"What, aunty?"

"Nothing my dear. So, can the doctors save her?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, she needs a new liver and a blood transfusion. Dr. Shobu said the she has three moths to live. I wanted to donate the liver and blood, I really did but I can't, because her blood and mine are different blood types. She thought she was going to die so she told me her secret that I wasn't her real daughter. I wanted to meet my real mom, but I also wanted to ask if you could help her, and maybe patch things up with her, I know you don't really like her right now but I know that she would like it if you visited her. She's in the local hospital at the moment, Room 523." Sakura pleaded.

"Alright, child, I'll go to visit Jadeshiike tommorow. But for now, won't you come inside and have some tea with me?"

"I'd love to, thank you Aunty Mia." Sakura beamed and bounced inside happily.

Syaoran

He was pacing his room, trying to figure out the solution to his dillema with Jet and Sakura. At the same time he was wondering what he should get them for their birthdays because, ironically, both Jet and Sakura's birthdays were on November 21st and Jet would get really mad if Sakura got a better present than she did. She'd also be pretty pissed if their presents were the same. He knew Sakura wouldn't really mind if he got her nothing but Mei Lin and Tomoyo might bash his head open if he did that.

Needless to say, he was pretty confused. He had absolutely NO idea to any of his problems. He flopped down on the bed, trying to relax and clear his mind. He tried a meditating technique that his sensei has taught them, but it was hard and only Sakura had mastered it. However he did mange to hear two voice that seemed to be arguing. 'Jet!' one voice yelled. 'Saki!' shrieked the other.

With no other options to turn to, he decided to get advice from his dad. On his way to his father's study, he mentally smacked himself on the head, he should've done this first, his father had never failed to give him good advice in the past. He approached the polished wooden door slowly and raised his fist to knock. Suddenly the door opened and Syaoran just barely missed accidentally punching his father in the face.

"Whoa, whad'd I do now?" His father asked jokingly.

"I'm sorry, father. It was an accident." Syaoran blushed and bowed apologetically.

"It's okay, I was just kidding. I was kind of expecting you."

"Really? Why?"

"Because, son, you have been acting strangely all this week, as if your thoughts wander yet always end up in the same place." Replied the older Li.

Syaoran was shocked at how accurate that was. "So tell me what's on your mind,"

"Well, Okay, hypothetically speaking let's say there is this boy. And He's best friends with this girl and he has a girlfriend. One day another person tells him that he may like his best friend. What should this boy do? Uh, it's a…puzzle Tomoyo told me yesterday." He added lamely, trying to cover up his story.

"Well then, for hypothetical situation's sake let's call the boy Syaoran, the girlfriend Jet and the best friend Sakura." Li Lian had barely succeeded in suppressing his growing smile.

Syaoran dropped his head, blushing furiously. Busted.

"Well, I think this boy should listen to what his heart tells him." He advised. "Oh, I'm sorry, son, I've got to get going I've got a meeting in ten minutes." And with that he left.

"Who do I love?" he asked himself, not hearing his head scream 'Jet!' while his heart shouted 'Saki!'

He sighed and, not knowing what else to do, he returned to his room and fell asleep. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of crimsonm eyes were watching from afar.

Mei Lin shook her head, red and black hair swaying with the movement. "Oh, little brother, why can't you see? She doesn't deserve you." She then went to the guestroom and lay on her bed, listening to music and praying that Sakura could tell her brother brfore it was too late.

Ayisha

She was in her room, listening to her favorite songs on her shiny mp3 player. Suddenly a voice called, "Ayshi, sweetie, someone's here to see you!"

"Coming, mom!" She yelled back. Ayisha dashed down the stairs hoping it was Katana so they could go to the mall or something, because she was really bored. She stopped short when she came into the front hallway and saw that it was not Katana as she originally thought it was, "Hakaru…"

Katana

She was looking through a magazine when she saw an albino girl with ringlets in her hair. The girl was really pretty and it was probably because of the hair. She decided she needed a new look and Jet might be able to helop her with this. "Jet?" She called, no one answered. She walked into her sister's room, cringing at the boring neutral colors the whole room was done in. She walked to Jet's private bathrrom, hoping to at least find a curling iron, but found nothing. Sighing, she walked back to the door, when she noticed something that wasn't there before; a videocamera.

"Well hello, what's this then?" She murmured to herself, ejecting the tape and bringing to her room.

Jet

She smiled, and ran her fingers through his spiked hair. But he pulled back. She gazed at him with questions in her eager eyes. "What?"

"You did nothing, you let her beat me and you did nothing." He said accusingly. Jet did not miss the hurt tone of his voice.

"Baby, baby I'm sorry, really I am. But I'll make it up to you, really I will, I promise." She vowed to herself that she would get that Avalon bitch for hurting her baby, she swore she would get even.

He considered it for a moment then said, "Okay, I love you too much to be mad."

"Good," she smiled and that was all she said before he covered her body with his and they made love right there in the alleyway.

Jon and Chia

"I couldn't get her to give me the money," Jon said when they got home. "She's ordering an official divorce."

"It's okay, Jon. We'll try again. Here let me get you some ice." She said gently. Internally, she was fuming. 'Damn. What a fool. I only got with him for his money and he doesn't even have that. It's not like he'll always be faithful, that much is obvious. And he's not really that hot either. Oh, well. I'm still young, I'll find someone. Maybe I'll ask my brother's girlfriend, she's probably got tons of options.'

She returned to the room with ice in one hand and a glass of brandy in the other. She gasped in surprise, Jon was on his knees in front of her with a diamond ring in his hand. "Marry me."

"Yes." She replied, not because she loved him, but because that was a 24-carat diamond…

**WOW…what afucking bitchuser. Anyways, so what do you think? I'm am truly sorry it took so damn long but I had writer's block so…yeah.I am also very sorry that this chapter is quite short.I would like to thank all who reviewed. Also, I need ideas because I think I'm running out. Any review will do, even flames because it might inspire me. I've decided that disclaimers piss me off so I'll stop doing them for now because I've already said 'I Don't Own.' How many freaking times must I tell you? Any ways, Ja ne. Love hearts, Chibi.**


	9. You love me? Prove it

Yay! I am so very VERY happy that so many people reviewed! I SUPERHEART you all!

Messages:

angel chick1589, lexa22, VcChick, nops, lil sakura: thank you for reviewing!

Psycho-pyro-shrink: I'll try to get in a cinnamon popsicle scene but it won't be a super major thing.

2 OVERLY obsessed: a fabulongshoomarvelishlywonderpipical that's a good thing by the way thank you for your constant and super awesome reviews.

Rushi Star: Not much action in this one but next chapter she's gonna tell him, I swear.

Chapter nine…

Katana

"I wonder what this is." She wondered out loud, walking into her room with the tape in her hand. "Maybe just a peek…" she said as she put the tape in the VCR…

Hospital

Sakura was sitting beside her mom in the hospital, talking to her and trying to take her mind off the growing pain in her liver area. They were just talking about anything that could come to their minds. Sakura was bringing her mother up to date on who was dating who as she had been out of the loop for a while. Finally, Sakura couldn't think of anything else to talk about so a comfortable silence fell between them. It was Sakura who broke the silence.

"Mom?"

"Hai, sweetie?"

"When I meet my birth mom, what will I call you?"

"You could call me…Mama Jade. How's that, hm?"

"That sounds good, Mama Jade… Mom!" She yelled because Jade's head drooped forward limply and she looked dead. "Help! Doctor! Somebody! HELP!"

The nurses rushed in along with Dr. Shobu. They began to rush her to the emergency room.

Sakura cried quietly in the corner, her mother looked like she had died instantly and it was really scary for her. She tried to call someone on her cell phone but her body didn't seem to obey her. All she could do was stand back and cry helplessly. Suddenly she felt a warm arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a comforting hug. At first she thought it was Syaoran again, but she realized the scent was to feminine to be Syaoran. Tomoyo's perfume smelled like lavender and Mei Lin didn't wear perfume. She looked up, wondering who it could be. Her emeralds found themselves locked into the crystal sapphires of her aunt's. "Auntie Mia?" She asked. "Is that you?"

"Hai, love, I promised I would come, remember?" Sakura nodded. "I also have great news for you."

"What is it, Auntie?"

"Your mother came home early." Sakura gasped softly in surprise.

"Could I meet her? I mean, would she mind? OH, this is so exciting, what should I say? Should I go home and change? Will she come here? Should I go there? What should I wear? Do you think she'll recognize me? Will she be proud, cuz you know, I'm kinda smart but not so much in math. Do you think she'll like me?" Sakura asked breathlessly.

"She'll like you, don't worry my dear. Now rest, I will go see how Jadeshiike is doing." Sakura nodded and sat down on the chair in her mother's hospital room and waited for someone to return. She absentmindedly wondered if Syaoran was on his way, she really felt like talking to someone. But he wasn't coming anytime soon…

Syaoran

He was at the shopping mall with Jet at the moment. He couldn't figure out what she wanted, so he decided to bring her to the mall to pick out her own present. She was obviously delighted. Inside he was worried she might pick out something he couldn't afford. After all, she was an heiress to the Tsai fortune. They had just entered the third jewelry store in a row when Syaoran felt it. It seemed like his heart was breaking, and he knew that there was something wrong with Sakura. He told Jet to run along inside while he caught up. What was he going to do? Jet might get mad at him for leaving but Sakura was really in pain. Maybe he could bring Jet to see Sakura, just to make sure she was alright. Well, it couldn't hurt to try could it?

He found Jet staring at some onyx and diamond set pendants. He looked at the tag and gulped, he could afford it but he would be totally broke and wouldn't have enough to buy anything else for a while. "Jet?" He said, coming nearer. "Uhm, I know I said that you could pick out something fo r your birthday but could we come back later?"

Her eyes flashed suspiciously. "Why? I think I like this one." She said stubbornly, pointing at the most expensive pendant.

"I think Sakura needs my help."

"You think Sakura needs your help." She said dubiously. "That's why we're leaving."

"Yes."

"Why is it always like this?" She shrieked, making all the people in the store look at them. "You always choose her over me! It's my birthday today, couldn't you just _once _show me that you love me more than her? I'm your girlfriend, she's just a friend. Why don't you love me?" She let her voice crack and her eyes tear up. He was going to choose her, she could see it in his eyes. He sighed.

"Jet, I do love you." He said, trying to calm her.

"Prove it." She hissed between he teeth.

He sighed resignedly. "Alright. You said you liked this one?"

Her tears instantly vanished and she was all smiles again. _'Oh Syaoran, this is just too easy. I'll get you little cherry blossom I'll break you so much and steal the one closest to your heart.' _She thought wickedly to herself.

Jade

When she woke up, she was in her hospital room again. _'How did I get here?' _She wondered. She concentrated on remembering but the last memory she could recall was telling Sakura to call her Mama Jade. The strain was too much on her sore head and she groaned and lay back down on the pillows. She looked down and saw Sakura with her head resting on her arm, she was asleep. Slowly she took her hand away. And Sakura woke up. "Mom? I mean, Mama Jade?" Jade nodded her head but then stopped because it was still hurting. Sakura looked as if she was about to throw her arms around her and smother in a warm blosommy-smelling hug but she only just restrained herself. Which was good because Jade was sure her head would split open if she did. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alright!"

"What….happened?" Her mouth felt dry and her tongue was feeling heavy and hard to move.

"You….fainted. And then they had to rush you to the emergency room. You've been asleep for three days."

"That's not what I meant…. I mean… how am I… not dead?"

"Dr. Shobu said that one of your sisters donated the liver which they transplanted immeadiatly into your body and so you lived."

"my sisters were here?"

"Well, I saw and met Aunt Mia already but I haven't actually met my mom yet."

"Mia? Miashiiko? My sister was here? But…" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "but she doesn't have the same blood type as me. Only Nadeshiiko does. Why would she…save me?"

"Because unlike you I'm not a blood traitor, sister." Said a cold, but hurt voice at the door.

"Nades?"


	10. Choose me

It's me again…I'm so very sorry but I was making this chapter as long as I possibly could. Also, I don't have any electricity in my house… long story. Aand for the past few days this fanfic site has been gaytarded and that part is not my fault.Anyways I'm sorry it's been a while. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially… 

Nops: you want it, you got it. Thanks for reviewing.

LetMePlay: Nope, Jet is Japanese and yes, she does have black hair, JET black hair. Get it? Huh? Huh? Huh? Lol sorry this is just me being really corny. Thank you for reviewing.

Mrs Asakura Hao: Thank you for reviewing?

Babiepinkpenguin: Thank you for reviewing, I'm so glad you think my story is interesting. D

Psycho-pyro-shrink: Any time… actually do you have any other cool sounding food requests? Cuz I'd be happy to put them in. Also, if you don't want any thing bad to happen to Sakura and Syaoran you're really gonna hate this chapter. Stick around and find out why. Thank you so much for your review and I'm glad you think my story is awesome.

Taisa-Bean: Thanks for reviewing Meko! Luv ya.

2 OVERLY obsessed: Thank you soo much for your reviews.

VcChick: Get Jet run over by a car you say? Not such a bad idea after all… Thanks very much for your review!

Faii: Thanks for reviewing Ayisha! Haha named a character after you. Yeah I hate him too.

Chapter Ten… 

"Nades?"

"Yeah, it's me." She rolled her eyes rudely. "Obviously."

"I-I wanted to…apologize. Nades, I'm so sorry. I was…I was wrong."

"Imotou-san, I love you but no, I can't forgive or respect you. Stuff like that takes time."

"Well well well. Isn't this a happy reunion?"

"Mia! I'm so sorry to you as well. I shouldn't have…taken him from you. Although, if you think about it I did you a favor." She added jokingly.

"It's alright little sister." Mia smiled faintly. "It just hurts that's all. What Nades just said the same goes for me huh?"

"Hai, sister." She bowed her head in a humble manner. "I'm sorry, to all of you." She spoke to her sisters and Sakura before encompassing them in a huge hug that rent her head wide with pain but she didn't even notice because the love in her heart and the weight off her shoulders drowned it all out. "I love you guys." They all said at the same time and broke off into giggles. After a moment, Jade announced that her head felt like it was shattering and they all agreed to leave her to rest. "Sakura my dear, we have much to talk about." Nades said, pulling her off to one side. They looked at Miashiiko who nodded, silently agreeing to watch over their sister while they left.

"Yes…mom." That one word lifted her spirits and she felt great pleasure in saying it.

She led them to a quiet café on the corner of the street where the hospital was located. They ordered a bowl of ramen noodles and settled into an uncomfortable silence which was injected with hungry slurping noises.

"So, tell me about your life so far." Nades said to Sakura.

At first, Sakura was reluctant to talk about herself as it seemed kind of selfish of her but after a while she opened up and soon her whole life story was pouring out of her. She told Nades everything. She told her about her friends and her feelings for Syaoran and how she was worried that maybe he might reject her. In turn, Nades gave her proper motherly advice and told her that she was supporting her and that she'd always be there for her if she wanted to talk. All this took a grand total of five hours and they decided that they really enjoyed each other's company. Nades also remembered something very important.

"Sakura," The young girl looked up from her cold bowl of noodles, which she was stirring intently, thinking about Syaoran.

"Hai, Mom?"

"Happy eighteenth, sweetheart." Nades pulled out a small silver box from her purse. Sakura opened it slowly and gasped. Inside was a cherry blossom pendant, it was medium sized and extremely beautiful. In the middle was a cluster of pure diamonds which gradually faded to a light pink color. On the border of it was a line of the prettiest cut pink opals. Sakura put it on and it brought out the green of her eyes.

"Mom…I don't know what to say except…thank you. But, it's not my birthday today." Nades frowned.

"Yes, it is. November the 21st. That's your birthday isn't it?"

"It is…then why didn't…my friends…" She sighed sadly.

"Which reminds me, sweetheart. I want to take you to this fabulous new club downtown. Don't cry sweetheart. I'm sure they didn't forget. They probably wanted you to get some rest. C'mon, let's go."

Ten minutes later they were pulling the parking into the new club 'Bluegrass' it was called. Sakura was still feeling very sad that her friends had forgotten her birthday. "Sakura? Come one." Nades led them to the bar. "Two martinis jack." She said, addressing the bartender.

"I'm underage." Sakura protested.

"Are you now?" Nades smiled at her skeptically. Sakura blushed; embarrassedly she had already forgotten she was eighteen. She sipped her drink cautiously and, upon discovering she liked it, she gulped it all down, savoring the yummy taste. Nades took her by the hand and led to the VIP room. "Close your eyes, Sakura." She did as she was told. She heard the door being opened. "Now open them."

"Happy Birthday, Sakura!" She gasped in surprise. All her friends were there, raising their drinks in a less than sober fashion, toasting to her good health etc., etc. Tomoyo and Mei Lin stumbled forward and wrapped their arms around her. "How does it feel to be old?" Mei Lin joked. Tomoyo just laughed and handed her a bottle of Sake (I think that's Japanese rice beer or something). They led her into the crowd, helping her greet the people they had invited for her surprise party. "Rika, Chiharu!" She stopped to hug her best friends from elementary school. "I haven't seen you in sooo long!" Tomoyo slurred at her friends. She and Mei Lin wandered away in search of more alcohol. Having spent a year at college alone with Mei Lin, she sort of picked up on her party animal habits. Sakura smiled bemusedly at her friends as they walked away. "So what's been up guys?"

"Well……" She seemed to be thoughtful for a moment. "Takashi proposed!" Chiharu squealed, showing off her ring finger to Sakura who gasped. The diamond was **huge**. It looked like the 'Hope Diamond'… it probably was. (When Takashi and Chiharu realized that they really loved each other, she asked him to **please **stop making up stupid stories. In the end, he realized she was more important and put his imagination to more…productive outlets. Basically he wrote stories and was filthy rich.)

"It's beautiful, Chiharu! That's awesome!" Sakura exclaimed. She hugged her friend in congratulations. "What about you, Rika?" She began, turning toward the other girl.

"Well, I'm kind of going out with Terada." She said, shyly and pushing up her glasses.

"Nice one…" She said nicely. "Well, I'll see you guys later. Come over to my house next time okay?" She said, starting to walk away.

"We will!" They promised to her retreating back. Sakura circled the huge party room twice looking for a certain person. She looked for his sister; she was surely around here somewhere. She found them sitting on a couch in the corner drinking like fishes. She approached them cautiously; they were extremely drunk and shouting pickup lines to any random guy that happened to pass by. She smiled at them absentmindedly.

"Um, Mei Mei?" She said carefully. "Where's…Syaoran?"

She seemed to sober up for a moment and her eyes turned angry. Sakura edged away a bit. But her eyes glazed over a little and returned to their original state. "He said…" She seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Something about…Jet's birthday party… stupid little brother… he got all defensive and said… 'so what if I love her, if she really cared about me, Saki will understand…I tried to talk him out of it but…he wouldn't listen…I'm sorry, kid I really am… how ya doin' good-lookin'?" She yelled at a passing stranger. Sakura barely noticed, though all that could run through her mind was, 'Syao ditched me for…Jet! What the hell is going on!' After the initial skepticism she realized that Mei Lin had been drinking too much that she couldn't exercise discretion with what she said. What ever came out of her mouth was the complete and totally blunt truth. A sudden wave of sadness hit her repeatedly, until the sadness in her heart was too much to bear. She had begun to wonder where they were getting their beer from because they seemed to always have a full bottle in their hands without ever getting up. She looked around and realized that they were sitting right beside the two of the coolers that contained beer. She plopped herself down beside the cooler and leaned her head on Tomoyo's thigh, who patted her head as sympathetically as a drunk person could. Sakura opened a bottle and drank it all down with one gulp. She cringed at the bitter taste but proceeded to open up another bottle. 'If it worked to Mama Jade, it'll work for me.' She thought bitterly to herself, forgetting the consequences. She opened bottle after bottle until she was totally wasted. However, not even that wasn't enough to quell the pain in her heart. 'I love you, Syaoran. Why can't you see?' Was the last thought she had in her mind before she passed out.

The Next Day

"Sakura? Sakura?" She awoke to the sound of someone calling her name. She groaned. The pain feeling she had once had in her heart was now replaced by the awful throbbing of her hangover. She had completely forgotten about Syaoran ditching her.

She opened her eyes wide and quickly shut them tight against the bright light. She groaned and rolled over. "Well that's what you get for drinking too much, young lady." The disembodied voice scolded. It sighed. "I've been a mother for only a day and already my daughter is getting drunk irresponsibly."

"M-mom…?" She groaned and blinked rapidly, trying to get the sleep from her eyes. Suddenly the voice was right in front of her. The light seemed to be a lamp that was hanging just above whatever piece of furniture she lay on.

"Did I do that right? Did I sound strict enough?" Nadeshiiko asked, earnestly. She noticed Sakura struggling to open her eyes with the light and hurriedly switched it off.

"Um…yeah you said it fine, very convincing." She half slurred half mumbled.

"Really? Thank you. Happy birthday again." Her voice moved to the other side of the room and returned with the smell of bacon. Sakura followed her nose and opened her eyes. Her mother was standing over her with a plate full of sizzling food. Her stomach grumbled hungrily. Her mother looked at her a bit sternly. "I'm serious though sweetheart. You shouldn't consume too much alcohol. You could develop an addiction."

"I don't actually do stuff like that mom. Gomen, I guess I got a bit carried away huh?" She said apologetically.

"You did. But, no matter, just don't do it again okay?"

"Hai mom." She said, glad to be let off the hook so easily.

"Promise?" Nades said suspiciously.

"Promise." Sakura said sincerely.

"Now have some breakfast." Nades said, offering Sakura the plate of food she was carrying. She gobbled the food down like Kero and asked for seconds, thirds and fourths until she was so full she felt like she was about to burst. As she sat back, groaning and holding her stomach, Nades said, "Yup, a hangover will do that to you. Feel better now?" Sakura nodded and chewed slowly, she looked like a chipmunk with a mouth full of food. "Good. Now get some sleep, you need your rest. It's already 9 PM and you're going to school tomorrow." Sakura groaned and rolled her head back, resting it on the back of the couch.

She brought her head back up and surveyed the room she was in. She was sitting on a worn but comfortable green and blue striped couch. Across from her was the kitchen area and beside the stove was a sink filled with dirty dishes. In between the sink and the couch she was sitting on there was a small wooden table with two mismatched chairs seated at it. Off to the side was another couch that was really weird looking. It seemed to piece a piece of what could politely be called 'modern art'. Basically, it was deformed in every sense of the word. Suddenly a thought struck Sakura. She had never seen this place before… where the hell was she?

"Mom?" She called out to the hallway where her mother had disappeared to. "Where are you?" 'Where am I?' she thought.

"I'm coming." She called back in a singsong voice. She emerged, looking really nice. Nades had on a sleeveless red dress that went to just above her knees. It was red and maroon which might not have looked good usually but did. The V-shaped neckline was accentuated by the various multiple red and black necklaces she wore. She had chandelier diamond earrings in her earlobe and a giant ruby stud in her ear cartiledge. Her smooth auburn hair was pulled into a high ponytail and shone even in the dim light. Her black kitten-heeled shoes (a/n for any guy reading this which I doubt kitten heels are shoes on which the heels are curved slightly in the middle and tend to be quite short.) had pretty sequins and made them look like a black version of Dorothy's. (Wizard of Oz reference.) She twirled in front of her daughter, her hair flying around her shoulders. "Well, what do you think?" She asked, looking at her daughter expectantly.

"Wow, mom you look really nice. Got a hot date tonight or something?" Sakura asked playfully.

"Aw, _nice? _I was going for beautiful and hot. And yes, I do have a date, thank you very much." She replied proudly.

"Fine, fine." Sakura corrected. "You look amazingly hot."

Nades mock curtsied. "Thank you darling." She said with an English accent.

"So who's your hot date Mom?" Sakura raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Nades laughed heartily. "His name is Lini Fujitaka. I work with him. We've been dating for a while now. He's really nice, I like him. Although… would you like me to stay with you or is your head still hurting?" She was genuinely concerned but Sakura could tell that she really wanted to go on her date.

"I'm fine, mom. Just one thing, do you have any cinnamon popsicles?" (A/n Thank you psycho-pyro-shrink!) Sakura asked wearily.

"Cinnamon popsicles? Why?" Nades had a small smile on her face and her head was cocked to the side slightly.

"Oh, well it's okay if you don't have them. It's not a really common thing to buy at the store or whatever. It's just that they're my favorite kind of food and if anything can make me feel better it's that."

"Actually," Nades smiled. "They're my favorite too. I just bought a jumbo-sized box at the store the day before yesterday. They always make me feel better too." She walked to the freezer and pulled out two amber colored popsicles. She unwrapped both and threw the plastic in the garbage can. Nades stuck one in her mouth and handed the other to Sakura who chewed on it delightedly. Nades stared at her daughter with an amusement on her face. Within seconds the Popsicle was gone. Sakura smiled and leaned her head back on the sofa again.

"Brain freeze?" Nades asked.

"Yeah," Sakura sighed and put a hand to her forehead. "But my headache feels a lot better. Do you have any more?"

"Sure." Nades walked back to the freezer and opened the door. "How many can you finish, sweetheart?"

"Um, about five." Sakura replied. Nades nodded and retrieved five more popsicles from the freezer. She threw them all to Sakura at the same time. Sakura caught them all easily without looking.

"Impressive." Nades said, sitting beside Sakura on the couch. "So how long were you in China training for?"

"Um, about a year." Sakura responded, starting to eat the Popsicle more slowly.

"Was it really difficult?"

"Well-" Her description of her days in China was cut short by the doorbell. Nades jumped up instantly.

"Oh, that'll be Fujitaka now. Take care, sweetheart." And with that she went into the hallway. Sakura heard the door open and sounds of greeting, then the door closed and there was silence in the apartment._ 'Might as well sleep, then. Goodnight mom.' _She thought and drifted to sleep just as her thoughts turned to Syaoran. _' I'm gonna tell him tomorrow.' _She assured her restless mind.

The Next Day.

It was Monday and Sakura walked with a bounce in her step. Just near the school Mei Lin and Tomoyo had showed up and given her a pep talk, assuring her that Syaoran definitely loved her more and that if she made him choose between her and Jet, Syaoran would definitely choose her. So she walked, smiling and walking confidently to where she saw Syaoran standing. "Hey Sakura!" Mei Lin called behind her. She whirled around to see her friends running toward her. "Take this for good luck." She said and put a Chinese good luck charm around her neck. Sakura was touched. "Aww thanks Mei Mei and Moyo."

"Knock 'em dead Saku." Tomoyo smiled. Sakura returned the gesture and began to walk towards Syaoran. But when she got there, he was gone. Instead there was Jet, smiling at her cockily.

"No use trying, little girl. He's _mine. _So you just go back to your little dolls and let the big people alone okay?" Jet said condescendingly.

"Fuck off, Jet. If he had to choose he would pick me." Sakura replied acidly.

"Are you sure about that? Then how come her came to _my _birthday party and not yours?" Sakura could find no answer as she vaguely remembered her conversation to Mei Lin about Syaoran's whereabouts. She felt the pain in her chest again and for a second there she forgot to breathe. But the pain was soon replaced by a familiar, bubbling rage. She felt her face flush and moved as if she was in water. Jet was still insulting her and proving that Syaoran loved her more. Sakura could tell by the way Jet was standing with her weight to one side and checking off points on her fingers. She heard none of it. "You." She hissed through clenched teeth. "Poisoned his mind and you're gonna pay." And with that she lunged at Jet and began slapping her and scratching her porcelain face. The rich girl screamed and began clawing back at Sakura. They rolled around, a tangled mass of limbs and shiny hair. People and gathered around them, cheering them on. They paid no attention to them, however. They just rolled on top of each other. Sakura couldn't seem to remember how to punch properly all she could do was spit and claw and pull hair. So they were evenly matched as Jet had been enough catfights in her time. Sakura knew she had to stand back and let her emotions not affect her judgment but she just couldn't. She vaguely remembered her sensei telling her that she needed to train more because her feelings affected her too much. Which was why she couldn't punch properly. She was _feeling _like a bitch and therefore she was _acting _like a bitch. They rolled around in the parking lot for a while and Sakura maintained her self-control somewhat. She took a deep breath, summoning her chi. then she picked up the screaming, flailing girl and threw her into her own Ferrari, cracking the wind shield. Jet was still and didn't move but Sakura knew she wasn't dead, Sakura had calculated her strength correctly, and Jet stirred and sat up slowly, as if the very movement pained her severely.

"What the fuck!" Syaoran's voice came from behind them.

Jet simple glared at Sakura and stared sadly at her boyfriend. "You can't have us both, baby. You have to choose. Who do care about more, me or her?" She indicated Sakura, who was gazing hopefully at Syaoran. At least she wasn't the one to tell him to choose.

"But I love you equally-"

"Choose." Jet interjected forcefully.

Syaoran looked confusedly between Sakura and Jet. He took one step towards Jet. "I love you Syao." Syaoran snapped his head up. Sakura had never told anyone that **ever. **Well, with the exception of Jade and Nades. The question running through his mind was _Does she love me for real or just as a friend? _He took a step towards Sakura.

"That's so _garbage,_ why are you going to her just because she's said 'I love you' once! I've told you that a thousand times!" Jet intervened frustrated. And something inside of Syaoran withered and he knew who he was going to choose. He looked at the girl whose heart he was sure to break and tried to convey a look of apology. She took one look at his smoldering ambers and felt the hot tears rush to her eyes. This was so wrong, he was supposed to pick her, he should always choose her; she was his _best friend._ The other girl was still waiting for a reply, she obviously hadn't interpreted Syaoran's transparent look of guilt and apology towards Sakura. She just didn't understand. It was so unfair. Syaoran cleared his throat.

Syaoran's thoughts

_If you choose Jet, you'll break Saki's heart! The one and only time she tells you that she loves you and you hurt her! What's wrong with you? We both know that you love her!_

That's a lie, if you choose Jet, Sakura will understand right? That's what best friends are for. Plus, Jet is your girlfriend. You are always supposed to pick your girl over your friends. You of all people should know that.

Normal POV

He took a deep breath and concurred with the latter. "I choose Jet."

**I know you hate me, but I'll fix it, I swear. I'm so sorry but I had to. Hate, love indifference? I wanna know your thoughts. If I get enough reviews then I just might fix things between Saki and Syao. Please review!**


	11. Without you

Sakura couldn't breathe. She couldn't believe that after everything she did, all the years they've been friends, even after she told him she **_loved _**him that he would still chose his girlfriend over her. Her body felt numb all over, dulling her senses and slowing motion in her joints. At the same times, she was burning up. She could feel the heat, radiating from her heart, like a column of fire, consuming her. She knew she should leave. She had lost and Jet had won. But even as her brain was ordering her limbs into motion, Syaoran spoke again. And if anything would make her move, it would be his voice. His warm, masculine tone. He was trying to soothe her, trying to apologize. She couldn't hear the words, just the way he spoke them. But she knew well enough what he was trying to say. It was then that she realized the heat was not just radiating from her heart, it was coming from her eyes. She was crying. _Crying. _The word echoed in her head. The one she swore she would never let anyone see. But her tears didn't stop, not even after she ordered them to, in her brain of course. And all the taunting Jet had done to her came back in a wave of incoherent sorrow. He really did love Jet more than her. That was all she could comprehend. Her world was spinning out of control. Suddenly nothing seemed right any more. She vaguely recalled thinking that everything would be alright, as long as Syaoran was on her side. And now he wasn't. All these thoughts ran through her head and they whirled and chased each other around. So fast they made her dizzy but she steeled herself and commanded herself not to let go, not to succumb to weakness. And she didn't. She stayed strong on the inside, and that kept her from breaking down on the outside. And then she made her choice; she would never allow herself to have feelings ever again. She would become stone, like Syaoran had once been, before they had ever even known about Jet. Only this time, there would be no one to free her heart and warm as she had done for Syaoran. She would be colder than steel, indifferent yet polite. And this would never happen ever again. But Syaoran was still talking, and as long as she heard his voice she would still melt and be sad. She had to stop him from speaking or maybe, stop herself from hearing his voice.

"…Please understand, I love Jet-"

"More than me." She finished his sentence coldly. Before he could deny this, she was gone, running away, back to the crowd, to her friends. They were ready to cheer for her, she could tell. But they saw her face, her beautiful face, still stained with tears, as they had been on the first day of school. Only this time there was no Syaoran to wipe them away. He wasn't there to hold her and tell her that everything would be okay. He wasn't there now, and he never would be again. Not if she could help it.

Mei Lin and Tomoyo were there to meet her. And their mouths were poised to tell her what an ass Syaoran was being and that they would talk to them immeadiately. But she silenced them with a look of pure steel. Neither cold nor uncaring, just… indifferent. That one look projected to them and showed them that she didn't care. "It's okay." She was saying. Her voice sounded different, it was shaking from the pain in her heart. But she forced it down angrily. She pushed her feelings to the side as the obstacles that they were. She would never feel anything again. "it's not your fault." And then she kept walking. No one had the strength to follow her, not after they had seen her face. They were all frozen to the spot because her face, her one- bouncy, happy, beautiful face, was now a mask of pain. And nothing but time could heal that. But Syaoran didn't give up. He hadn't been able to look in her eyes for he was so filled with guilt and shame. Still, there was a small part of him that told him he was right and that Sakura would get over this, that she was wrong and that he'd chosen the right girl. But deep inside he knew that he was just lying to himself, to make him feel better. It worked, but he still needed to tell her that. He was right and she was wrong.

He ran to catch up with her and when he did, he gripped her by the shoulders and spun her around. And froze. Her eyes had the coldest fuck-you expression Syaoran had ever seen. Colder than what he used to see when he looked in the mirror. Her emeralds might as well have been made of ice, her face was unmoving, unforgiving. It told him to fuck off, that she didn't need him, didn't need any one. Her eyes were glaring at him so sharply he swore he felt it in his chest. And it made him uneasy, because in the past, he had always been able to calm her and kick the ass of whatever the source of her pain was. But now the source of her pain was the one person who would ever have been able to calm her and her knew not what to do. "Take your hands off me, Li." It wasn't a request, it was a statement, a threat. What shocked him even more was how formal and distant she sounded. She didn't use his nickname, the one she had fought so hard to earn. Never had he felt so ashamed of himself until that moment when she said those words to him. Her throat was caught and her eyes were bright, brighter than he had ever seen them before. Then he realized that they were so bright because she was crying. She was crying in front of everyone, because of him. He knew that wouldn't have if it was some minor thing, something she would just get over eventually. It was then that he realized that his decision was permanent, nothing could undo. He wished that he could take it back, choose her instead. But he couldn't- or wouldn't he wasn't sure- but his pride would not allow him to reverse his decision. All he could do was stand there, frozen by her voice, her face, her memory.

He barely felt it when Jet wrapped her arms around him, talking to him seductively, telling him he made the right choice. She put her tongue in his ear, but all he could remember was the time he had first met Kero. The puppy had jumped on him and stuck his wagging tongue in the boy's ear. So he barely felt it. He was lost, swimming in his memories of her. She was gone, it seemed. She was never coming back.

After a time, Syaoran felt Jet being ripped from him, but he was too dazed to notice. All he could do was gaze at the spot where Sakura had been. He should've been man enough to go after her and tell her… what? What could he have possibly said to make stay, forgive him? Suddenly Mei Lin's face was there, scowling at him like a cook does a stray mutt. She slapped him across the face. So hard in fact that it snapped to the side and his cheek burned. He could practically feel the tiny imprints her fingers would've made. Already his cheek was turning red. He didn't really notice that either. His brain barely registered the fact that his sister had hit him. She'd never done that before. She probably wouldn't have if he chose the right girl. Mei Lin always knew what was best for her brother, not thought she knew like some sister, she really did know what was best for him. No choice she had ever made for him had ever gone awry or backfired. She just knew what would be best for him. And right now it was apparent that Sakura was what was best for him. No one else could've been able to shake him from his icy state in the past, only Sakura. And suddenly she was talking, scolding him or something. He couldn't really hear what she was saying, it just felt as if he was on the beach again, with Sakura by his side, listening to roar and crash of the ocean. A video camera was stuck in his face. It took a while for him to understand what he was seeing. He realized it was Jet and Kai. And that Jet had _willingly_ let herself be taken by him. Another wave of guilt and self-pity had washed over him. He finally understood what Sakura was trying to show him all along. He snorted at the irony. He had to see this _now_ when it was already too late. Jet was a bitch, a ho, whatever. All he could remember was that he broke up with her and she had stopped struggling in his sister's grasp and that for some strange reason there was a tree branch in her mouth. He saw the looks of approval everyone gave him, except the one person who actually mattered;_ Sakura_. He wondered where she was now and he prayed she would forgive him. He finally understood what his heart was telling him, what Mei Lin had been trying to make him realize; he loved her too. And now all that mattered was that he find her and tell her. Which he would've, except everything went black.

**Mei Lin**

We saw Sakura hurl Jet into her windshield and some of us cheered. It seems Jet wasn't just a bitch to us after all. Then suddenly Syaoran was there, yelling at them. We couldn't really hear what he was saying but it was kind of obvious that they were making him choose between them. I was SO SURE he was going to pick Sakura. That kid would've been good for him, you know. But no. He walked over to Jet and held her like her used to Sakura. But her face stayed frozen. When she ran over to us her face was so cold I half-expected the tears on her cheeks crystallize and turn into ice or diamonds or something. I swear that girl was a mind reader though, because even before we'd opened our mouths to apologize, she was already forgiving us. It sounded odd, as if her throat were clenched and sound was struggling to escape it. Another thing I noticed, she was shaking, not just her voice or anything but her _whole body. _As if she was cold or something. All of a sudden my little brother's there, holding her by the shoulders but not saying anything. I could see the way she searched his eyes, even though hers were still icy, as if she was looking for a sign that he might take back his choice. But he didn't, as I knew he wouldn't. Sometimes I wish we hadn't been raised to be so proud. Maybe then he would've called her back and told her what we all knew he wanted to tell her. But he didn't so she ran, away from him, us, everything. And there was Jet, that sorry excuse for a person, simpering after him. I swear that girl had no shame. And she actually coiled herself around him and stuck her tongue in his ear. He didn't move cuz he probably didn't feel anything but I swear I saw that evil look of triumph all over her plastic features. I just snapped, I'm sorry but I lost it (Well I'm not sorry at all but Chibi says that I'm supposed to be. For morality or whatever. You know what I think? Screw morality; I hate that Jet bitch.) I ran over there and literally ripped her off of my little brother, who **still** wasn't moving by the way. Honestly, he worries me sometimes. Any way I ripped that girl off of him like kid with a scab. She was like a parasite, sucking out everything that could possibly make his life worthwhile; trust me, Sakura was _everything. _She was wailing like a newborn, drawing attention to herself I suppose. She was screaming garbage like "Syaoran, help me dammit!" or "RAPE! I'm getting raped!" So I had to pin her and shut her up somehow. I looked around and, being the awesome resourceful gal that I am, I stuck a tree branch in her wide-open trap. I don't think it was the most sanitary thing to do but who cares. It shut her up, anyhow. And now she was flailing, trying to get out of my obviously uncomfortable constrictor grip. I think she even whacked her own sister in the head. If it was accidental, I'll never know. "Now, Tomoyo!" I yelled at my friend. She knew what I was talking about, even if I wasn't being really specific. We were good like that, almost had twin telepathy like Syaoran and Sakura. Anyways, shouting that my brother wasn't working which was kind of understandable, considering he just made the biggest mistake of the century. So Tomoyo, thrust her camera in his face. It actually seemed to work. His face took on an expression of realization and remorse. It could almost see him cursing at irony. Which was kind of misplaced blame because he really should've cursing at Jet and himself for her lies and idiocy. But of course he didn't and I don't know why I even bother hoping for if because it's never going to come. Finally, he spoke. "Jet, we're done. It's over between us, you bitch." I swear I felt like cheering. And then… the rich brat a.k.a. Jet stopped struggling like a fish and just stayed still. Afterwards, anyone in front of me wore they saw her eyes turn red with anger but I wasn't able to see. Since she had stopped struggling, my grip on her loosened. She unexpectedly wrenched herself out of my grasp quicker than I thought possible and bashed an unprepared Syaoran in the head with the tree branch several times and then he fell. Tomoyo started screaming for someone to call and ambulance while waving her cell phone hysterically. I guess she was afraid of blood… No of that was really on my mind because at the moment all I wanted to do was rip that girl's head off. I was about to spring at her and do just that but someone got to do it before me. All I could see was a silky mop of silvery white hair attacking. It hit me that it was Katana, Jet's sister. And I'll be damned if I didn't want to help but I swear my honour wouldn't let me. Three against one was not exactly fair and that other girl, Ayisha I think that was her name, had jumped in and was doing what I couldn't. Anyway, someone called the ambulance and the cops came too for some reason. And we were all arrested (except Syaoran and Tomoyo) and went to jail for violence.

The Next Day 

We were all sitting in a tiny, cramped, urine-smelling jail cell. Jet looked amusingly ruffled and was sporting a huge black eye. At about noon out parents came to bail us out. And I swear I heard Jet's mother congratulate her on breaking someone so thoroughly. I swear I will never understand these pompous rich bastards. Well, except for Katana who was promptly disowned for attacking her sister. Her reaction surprised me, to say the least. I expected her to cry or something but instead she slapped her mother and leaned in real close to her sister and said something along the lines of; "That bruise was an early birthday present, enjoy. There's a lot more where that came from." And then she went to her father and told him to chain up his cars and lock 'em up tight. And the man suddenly paled for a reason that I couldn't understand at the moment. But damn, she was pretty damn scary and I was so proud of her I said, "Hey 'Tana, Screw the surname 'Tsai', you're a Li now." And we were happy until Tomoyo came and reminded us we had a brother in the hospital.

Normal POV 

Syaoran felt like crap. Not because of his head (which had healed fine because luckily he had fainted from exhaustion and not Jet's pathetically weak blows to the head). He felt like crap because he was thinking about what he could say to Sakura when he saw her. He was still mulling it over in his head several hours later when his sister came in, looking proud and triumphant for some reason. Behind her was Tomoyo and Tsai Katana. He was wondering what she was doing here and why she wasn't dead yet, as she was Jet's sister. But Mei Lin hadn't killed and he supposed it was a good thing. Before he had a chance to clarify what he was seeing verbally, Mei Lin looked him in the eyes and told him that they had to go see Sakura. His stomach dropped and his heart melted at the same time at the sound of her name. He agreed and his sister dragged him out, singed the appropriate forms and drove like a whirlwind to Avalon Jade's house. They used a trick they saw Sakura do to break into the house when she forgot her key. The door opened to reveal….

Mountains upon mountains of empty cinnamon Popsicle boxes. But no Sakura. They searched the entire house 'til they were absolutely sure that she wasn't home. So they went to the hospital where Jade was still recovering from her surgery. But when they got inside, Jade just gave them a melancholy look as they asked her where Sakura was.

"She left me a note…" They all huddled together as Tomoyo read it.

_Dear Mama Jade,_

_I need to return to China. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I don't know when I'm coming back, or if I even will come back. Just know that I love you._

_-Sakura-_

The words 'don't worry about me I'll be fine' were sort of contradicted by obvious tear splatters on the paper, along with something that looked unsettlingly like blood….

**I know it's a short chapter and I apologize but I'm sort of busy and my wrist is starting to hurt. I'm also sorry for not thanking anyone at the beginning… but no one really reads those anyways. Thank you to all who reviewed. You're all awesome and you know who you are! Please review some more. Hugsnhearts, Chibi angelle.**


	12. There and Back

My apologies to all my fabulous readers. I'm so very sorry it took so long to update this fic. It took so long because my computer's on the fritz and every time I tried to save the story it deleted it. But now I suppose I've fixed the problem and we can all get on with our lives. Anyhoo here's chapter twelve of my favorite story.

**-Chibi Angelle-**

She dragged her luggage after her and stowed it in the overhead compartment. The Boeing 747 was nearly full and she was one of the last to board, being single and young. She could afford middle-class, so here she was. She edged over the knees of an elderly couple, mumbling her apologies, to get to her seat. She smiled because it was beside the window, and she'd always loved watching the plane take off, the ground speedily departing. She loved the feeling of flying, unlike Syoaran who always grew queasy and a bit green around heights. Thinking of him sent a familiar pang through her heart, one she banished and forced a look of steel calm on herself. Outwardly, it looked absolutely perfect; well, not exactly, but she wasn't crying and that was a start. Suddenly a flash of memory escaped the steel cage that contained her heart and settled itself in her mind, offsetting a chain reaction. It was the time she had found out she was adopted, when Syaoran had been there, holding her, comforting her. Jet had burst into the room and called him 'Syao'. She hadn't showed any sign of hearing her but of course she had. She remembered everyone snapping at her and telling her that Sakura had earned the right to call him that. That memory brought her to think about how she earned it. It had been painful. She sighed and relaxed, knowing she couldn't be okay until she let this memory go.

Flashback 

"_Please?" She had begged for the hundredth time. They were in sixth grade, and he _still_ wouldn't let her call him by a nickname she made up, nor would he call her the nickname she told him to. After all the years he was still so formal._

"_No, Sakura." He replied firmly, but gently. They were walking home from another day in Terada-sensei's class. It was summer, she recalled, and the leaves were lush and green, the air was fresh and warm and she was with her best and only friend in the whole world. _

_People had never actually liked Sakura, sometimes she was afraid Syaoran didn't either. She hoped their friendship was not one based on pity at her obviously inept ability to _not_ weird people out with her strong belief of Fairies and the like. It wasn't, as he had proved to her time and time again. He even began to teach her some martial arts, until she knew as much as he did and they could spar together for practice. She was not, however, in the same legue as he was. But she fought to become so._

_The were casually walking on a secluded path that wasn't used by many people other than they. Suddenly, and group of boys appeared. They were tall and bulky; but only a year older from the look of them. They glared at the pair menacingly, it was clear they weren't here to enjoy to scenery. Bravely, Sakura and Syaoran walked forward, attempting to walk around the boys, and failing miserably. They barred their path with their bodies. "Can I help you?" Syaoran asked, his voice was calm, but his eyes were blazing in their sockets. A look of uncertainty crossed each of their faces, they had gotten used to children like them dropping to their knees and begging them for mercy. They stood their ground, though, and leered at Sakura. The old Sakura would have squealed and ran, she had grown up with her mother's warnings at prowlers and rapists, but this one stood firm, making Syaoran proud of her. They drew their strength from each other through their bond of friendship, glad for each other's presence._

"_Yeah," Said the boy at the front, clearly the ringleader. "You can lie down so we can beat the daylights outta ya, punk kid."_

"_And what," Sakura stepped forward boldly. "Would be the reason for this kind gesture, ladies?" She sneered at them._

"_Your sister." The boy at the far left replied, looking at Syaoran. He seemed to be the weak link, his chicken-like knees trembling under the weight of those fiery amber eyes. _

"Shut up, Hoshi._" The leader scolded. In any case it seemed because he wanted to tell the story himself. "She seems to think she's so big and tough, hitting our friends around the heads. Well we don't fight females so I think I'll settle this problem with you." With that the boys rounded on Syaoran. Syaoran sneered, "I bet she kicked your butts and you are too scared of her to go back for a rematch, tsk tsk tsk."_

_Quick as a jackrabbit, he swept the legs out from under the one called Hoshi, and socked the one on the right in the face. But, as good as his skills were, his opponents were tougher and very determined. Plus, he was outnumbered. One of them threw him on the ground and the rest were kicking his small form. Every time he tried to stand they shoved him down until he didn't try to rise any more. _

"_Stop it! You idiots! Where is your honor, pick on someone your own size, he's just a kid!" Sakura screamed. They stopped as one to look at her. Obviously they shared a brain. _

"_Shut up, or we'll get you, too." The middle one growled. Then they went back to kicking her friend. She discreetly pulled a cell phone from her pockets and dialed 911. She pressed the 'send' button and began screaming her head off. _

"_Help! Somebody help me! Pleassee!" Then she ran up to the boys and kicked the leader in the face. She winced and she heard his nose crack. 'That's gonna hurt in the morning.' She thought. Another one lunged at her, she used his bulk and forward momentum to throw him behind her, kicking him in the crotch as he sailed. Hoshi grabbed her around the middle as the remaining one threw a punch at her head. She ducked and he hit Hoshi instead. She landed in a crouch position and elbowed him in the stomach. Someone groaned. She looked around and they all began to get up again. She sneaked a glance at her friend. He was down for the count, she needed stall for as long as she could. She led them into the woods on the right side of the path. She ran until she found what she was looking for; a low-hanging branch, with just enough youth and strength to snap back and smash whoever was behind her. She pushed it past her and let go when the boy was in the right spot. His and the tree's momentum made him fly back into his friend. She ran back to where she had left Syaoran. Only one boy chased her now. She scaled the rough bark of a nearby tree and waited on a branch. The remaining boy looked around, puzzled as to why he could no longer see her. She whistled. As he looked up, she crashed down on him and he crumpled with the sudden impact, a kick to the head hadn't helped improve his consiousness much. She ran the rest of the way back to Syaoran. In her mind, she had counted those she had knocked out; three. 'only three? I swear there was four.' And them she was suddenly face to face with the last boy, the ringleader. The dash throught the woods had cost her and her hands and face were bleeding from small scratches. She also had a prize bruise in her rib when that Hoshi had grabbed her. She rubbed it slowly, trying to ease the pain. _

_However bad she looked, he looked a thousand times worse; his nose was oddly misshapen and there was blood everywhere on his face. She smirked knowing that was her doing. "You'll pay for that." He threatened. She shrugged an kicked him in the stomach and kneed him in the face again as he doubled over. He howled with pain as she hit his nose a second time. She stepped back, thinking he would leave her along now. But when he straightened, his eyes burned with fury and she wasn't fast enough to counter his blow. His huge, meaty fist smashed her porcelain face, sending stars across her vision. Now she was mad. She drove her elbow hard into his gut and kicked him again in the unmentionables. Either he was really strong, really mad, or he had nothing there but he got up faster than before. She opened her mouth to tell him so. He didn't give her the chance. She aimed a kick at him but he grabbed her foot, spinning her around and crashing into a thick oak head first. She saw him advancing and stop suddenly and run away. But her vision went red, then faded to black as she slipped from consiousness._

_A week later she woke up in a room with white-washed walls and comfy pillows. Her head throbbed angrily, reminding her to NOT try taking on four boys twice her size EVER again. She easily agreed. She moved her hand and realized there was something warm and sweaty on her hand. Horrified; she turned to look, but it was only Syaoran. She sighed with relief, the action waking him immeadiately. "Are you… okay, Syaoran?" She struggled to talk. Her tongue felt like sandpaper in the sea of honey that was her mouth. Syaoran smiled widely at her._

"_Me?" He answered increduolously. "Am _I _okay? You're the one that got knocked out, Saki."_

_She got the hint and smiled. "I'm glad you're okay, Syao." And she drifted back into unconciousness._

**End Flashback**

Reality came back to her with a jolt. That memory seemed like it was from so long ago. She leaned back in her chair as the plane bounced along the ground. Finally, she was in China. She called her Kaho-sensei and sat down to wait. A group of giggling girls passed by her and she stared at them with longing. She was instantly reminded of Tomoyo. She sighed, she really should've told her best friend where she was going. Maybe there was still time? She pulled out her cell and texted a short and to the point message. She signed it 'with love, you know I miss you, Sakura.' And reminisced back to the day when she met Tomoyo.

Flashback 

_It was Sakura's birthday and Syaoran was taking her out for a picnic in the park. They chose a seldom-used path and were happy to walk slowly through the autumn forest. The leaves were turning majestic shades of gold and red and the air was crisp and clean. They were about to cross the cobblestone bridge that led to the park when they heard something down below. They paused for a moment, there it was again; a splash and a gurgled cry for help. They leaned over the edge and saw her. There was a girl in the deep river below, splashing around in a frantic attempt to swim._

_Sakura stripped down to her undershirt and underwear and jumped over the edge of the bride. She grabbed the girl around the waist and towed her to the nearby shore. The girl gasp and spluttered but looked obviously relieved at being on dry land again. Sakura, having known the dangers of hypothermia frantically dragged the girl to the shore. Her eyes were closed. Worried, Sakura grabbed her wrist to check for a pulse, it was there, very weak, but still there. "Is she alright?" Startled, Sakura looked up; Syaoran was already there with the pile of clothes she had left behind. "I hope so, Syao. I think you should call 911, we don't know how long she was in that water and at this time of year, it's freezing. She might be suffering from hypothermic shock or something." _

_Syaoran nodded, as he was making the call, Sakura took the girl's clothes off, just up to her undershirt and underpants. She wrapped the girl in her shirt and pants and put her puffy goose-down jacket over the girl. Then she put her socks on the girl's hands and curled in to a ball to try to keep warm. She looked up and was once again relieved to see Syaoran was coming toward her. "The ambulance should be here in about fifteen minutes."_

_Sakura sighed with relief and shuddered to think of what might've happened to the strange girl if they hadn't seen her. Her shudder was continuous and suddenly she realized she was shivering; her teeth chattered together and her body had involuntarily curled into a ball. She closed her eyes, she was so tired…_

_Sakura awoke in a whitewashed room that had vague, pastel-colored ink-splatters on the walls. They looked familiar, She looked down and saw that she was in a narrow bed with white sheets and nothing but a paper-like gown to cover herself. On her wrist she had a plastic wristband on. She almost jumped in surprise when she saw that Syaoran was sitting in a chair beside her little cot, with his messy mop of mahogany hair resting wearily on the bed beside her hand. She smiled tenderly at him, what would she do without him? There was a knock on the door. His eyes opened slowly, and he smiled at Sakura._

"_I'm glad you're okay, Saki." He mumbled._

"_How long have I been out?" She wondered aloud._

"_A day or two. That was some birthday party, huh?"_

"_Most definitely." He smiled warmly and clasped her hand. The knocking became more insistent so Syaoran got up to answer it. "Alright, I'm coming." He grumbled._

_The girl they had rescued came in. She was decked out in smooth velvet pants and a hot pink halter-top under a black leather jacket and stiletto heels. "I owe you my life." She said solemnly, coming to stand beside the bed._

_Sakura grasped her hand, noticing the girl's perfect manicure. "You owe me nothing but your friendship." Sakura smiled._

"_Consider it done, I'm Tomoyo."_

"_Sakura." Both girls held out their pinkie fingers and linked them. They slid their hands together and lightly knocked fists as if it had been planned._

End Flashback 

Sakura broke off her train of thoughts when she saw her sensei walking towards her. She stood up and bowed respectfully. "Kaho-sensei. So good to see you." She greeted formally.

Her sensei studied her, what had happened to her carefree and bouncy spirit? "Yes, indeed Sakura. It is."

"I must give you my utmost gratitude at your agreement to pick me up on such short notice..

"It is nothing. Shall we go?"

"Sure." Sakura gathered her heavy bags and lifted them with ease and put them slowly into the back of the older woman's Jeep. The drive back to the mountains was long and silent.

Meanwhile back in Tomoeda.

Jet got home and thrashed her sister's room. How dare she? Turning on family like that. She was going to pay…

She got and idea and headed to her favorite hair salon. She had them cut her hair to shoulder-length, dyed light and brown then curled into ringlets. Then she ordered special blue contacts that added to her innocent look. She spent the remaining day talking to her mirror in the way that she had seen Sakura do; innocent and cute in a shy way. She ordered a new set of uniform, one that was full length and conservative. She practiced talking a bit more and smiled, angry and feral. "This is what you get for dumping me, Li." And went to bed, she had a long day ahead of her.

The Next Day

"Class, settle down! We have a new student for our class today.!" Their teacher announced, catching their attention. "Alright, you may come in, Miss Mitari."

Everyone watched in awe as a girl shyly shuffled into their class. Her dress was so long it went a bit past her knees. Some of the cheerleaders snickered, She is going to be a nun when she grows up, They thought. Syaoran abesently wished Tomoyo and Mei Lin were here, but they weren't being pretty damn pissed and his lame-ass decision.

"Now, now girls. Introduce yourself, Miss Mitari. Please." The teacher said kindly.

"Um, hi. I'm Mitari Kiaki. My family just moved here. And um, that's it, I guess." She giggled nervously.

Syaoran looked at her sharply, everything, from her voice to the way she held herself, reminded him of Sakura and his stupidity. Still, he felt extremely captivated by her adorable and innocent blue eyes and the way her hair curled to her shoulders.

"You may sit in that empty spot, next to Mr. Li." The teacher said.

Syaoran was uncomfortable with her sitting there. Just a few days ago that was Sakura's spot. Just a few days ago she was laughing and smiling with him and passing him notes about the way their teacher's toupee was slowly falling off his head. Just a few days ago he was happy.

"Mr. Li, if you would be so kind as to show Miss Mikari around the school for the first week or so?"

"Of course, sensei."

"Hi." She whispered when she sat down. He looked into her eyes and was startled that he thought of this girl as a mix of Sakura and his ex-girlfriend. Even so, he had to be courteous to this mysterious girl as much as he could. If not for the girl or his teacher, then to prove to himself that he could handle not having either of those green-eyes beauties in his life.

"I'm Li." He whispered back.

China, Six Months Later. (That's May)

Sakura was practicing her roundhouse kick technique on a wooden dummy, grunting in frustration as the dummy didn't budge. The last time she was here, she would've felled it easily. Now she was struggling with even the simplest tasks.

"It's because you've locked away your emotions." Her sensei called, coming towards her, titan hair flowing in the wind.

"Pardon, sensei?" She asked, not understanding.

"I know that I've told you once that your emotion controls too much of your fighting." Sakura nodded, remembering clearly. "Since you have locked away your emotions the fight inside you has been locked away as well," She nodded, gesturing at the wooden dummy. "You must get angry at it, but not let your anger control you, mind you, but anger gives you strength. And another thing; whatever happened between you and the Li boy has nothing to do with anything else. Just because you do not feel for him does not mean that you should punish the rest of the world by no smiling." At this, Sakura let go a little, just as her sensei said, and grinned. "That's alright, but you;ll have to do a bit better than that." And Sakura smiled like the Chesire Cat. "Much better. Now, try the dummy."

Sakura turned back to the dummy and focused all her anger towards Jet at the dummy. "Hraugh!" She yelled and threw her strength into the triangular part of her heel. The wooden dummy splintered into a million tiny splinters.

"That's the Sakura I know and love." Her sensei applauded her. After that, everything became easy for her. She drew strength from her emotion and succeeded and surpassed all expectations of her. One day Kaho came up to Sakura as she was stamping on the snow she had brought down from the mountain with her bare feet so that she could have a wash.

"I think you should go back to Tomoeda, Sakura." She told the girl, surprising her so much that Sakura slipped and fell down with a loud, "HOE!"

She hurriedly picked herself and bowed to Kaho, eyes tearing up a bit. "Do you really dislike my presence so much as to wish my absence?"

"I know you like it here, my dear. But you must return to Tomoeda. You must face what you have left behind and the feelings so also there, especially that Li boy. I also would really like for you to go to your graduation and prom my dear." She explained gently.

"But those things don't matter to me, Kaho-sensei! Prom, graduation it had little significance to what I want!" She objected strongly.

"That's what you think now. I was you, once. And look at me now. Old and alone and living on a mountain with very few visitors. You will regret this decision as long as you live. It is not a fate I would wish on anyone else, least of all you."

"But-" Kaho held up a hand to silence her

"I have already arranged for your mother to pick you up form the Tomoeda Airport tomorrow."

"Yes, Kaho-sensei." Sakura replied, eyes downcast.

"Come, you must pack. You flight leaves in an hour."

The Airport.

"I will miss you terribly, child." They were standing in front of the terminal and a flight attendant was announcing her plane ready to leave. The two women held their hands as they would never let go.

"And I, you." Sakura mumbled through tears. "I will come to visit after graduation, as soon as I can, I promise."

Kaho nodded and hugged the girl tightly. "Go now, child. Take care."

Sakura nodded and strode to where the people were lining to get onto the flight.

Tomoeda, The Next Day

Syaoran had grown close the new transfer student, whose innocence reminded him so much of Sakura that he had to keep her close, just so he could have a piece of Sakura with always. He knew it was a crazy thought but that was just how much he missed her. Everyone had grown to like her, even Katana, who was most suspicious of her because when she looked into the girl's eyes, she could see a blazing fire, bright and angry, until she blinked and it was just a trick of the light.

"I was wondering… nah nevermind." Kiaki said to Syaoran after school.

"what? What is it?" He coaxed playfully.

"Well, you know that the prom is coming up, right?" Syaoran nodded. "Well since I'm new here and don't really know anyone I was wondering, d'you want to go with me?" She blurted all in a rush, her face getting redder and redder each minute, just like his Cherry Blossom. He thought of her again, for the millionth time that day as he had ever since she left. He acted like he didn't even care about her existence on the outside, but on the inside he was bleeding profusely. It was like a poisoned would that refused to heal at all.

He thought of her, knowing that if he had chosen her they would be going to prom together, stay for about five minutes just for the picture and ditch, to go somewhere _much _more fun. But she wasn't here, and that wouldn't happen. He looked down the Sakura doppelganger; who was staring with pleading eyes.

"Sure," He replied easily. He smiled at the expression of pure joy that crossed her soft features. Inside, she was smirking wickedly. _'Hook, line and sinker.'_

There was a sudden commotion around the entrance to the school. He thought it was just Tomoyo and Mei Lin, they were supposed to be here for his graduation and Tomoyo was making the girls their dresses. They walked closer and could see that, Yes, Tomoyo and Mei Lin were there. But they weren't the center of attention. Some girl was linking arms with his half-sister and her best friend, smiling happily. Katana and Ayisha were close by, bombarding the girl with questions. She turned to look directly at Syaoran, like she knew he'd been there all along but of course she did because it was…

"Sakura…"

**Alright, before you murder me for not updating I apologize, for the long wait but it's just been so hectic because I've gotten a job (Yay, me!) and haven't had much time to update. Also school starts in a few days so it will take a while for the end of the story but while you're waiting, why nbot look at my other story, 'The Queen of Drag'? And PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! I know I don't deserve it but I really need reviews or I don't have motivation to update, savvy?**

**-Chibi Angelle**


	13. Replaced

Chapter 13. Best friends.

"Sakura." Li murmured. She turned to him and he felt the ice in her eyes.

Ignoring him completely, even though he was on the outer fringe of the crowd around her, she said, "You guys wanna go get something to eat? My treat."

Her friends nodded and they turned to leave, arms linked with each other. Syaoran followed close behind, he put a hand on her shoulder and she turned around. "Sorry, Li. I don't got enough money for anyone other than my friends." She jerked her head at Kiaki. "I think you should go back to your girlfriend. You're new one, I mean."

Numbly, he let his hand drop and turned to direct his feet to where Kiaki was. Shruikin stepped into his path, his expression serene from the pot and alcohol. "Don't do it, man. Go back to her. Go back to Sakura, you know she deserves more effort than that. Can't believe you pick Jet over her…"

"What? That's Kiaki, you idiot." Syaoran was exasperated.

"Sure she is." Shruikin said dubiously. "Just remember what I said." And he walked away. Syaoran shook his head and went to Kiaki.

"So who was that?" She asked quietly. But he saw in her eyes a fiery fury. Something that reminded him of Jet's angry eyes. He brushed it away. Jet was gone, she went to boarding school in America, Katana said.

"No one important." He shrugged. "You want me to drop you home?"

"Sure, if it's not too much of a problem for you." There was a cold triumph in her voice. But her voice was bubbly, like Sakura's used to be. He closed his eyes for a moment and imagined that it was her that was with him and not Kiaki. "You okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He sighed. "Let's go."

Kiaki smiled at his back. _This is what you get, Sakura bitch. _She could tell from how Sakura had looked at her that she was jealous. Perfect.

The Fried Sushi

They decided to go to the Fried Sushi, Sakura's favorite restaurant. Despite the name, the sushi was much raw. They were waiting for a table that would seat them all when Mei Lin turned to Sakura with pleading in her eyes. "What?" Asked Sakura.

"He broke up with Jet, you know. Because of you." She replied.

"Really," She said quietly. "What took him so long? Why did he do it?"

"Because of yo-" Began Ayisha.

"Don't give me that bullshit nonsense." Cut in Sakura. "If it really was because of me I never would have left. Now really, why did he leave?" She looked at her friends, one at a time, letting her gaze linger a bit. "Anyone?"

"I showed him a tape that-" Started Tomoyo.

"Exactly." Sakura interrupted. When her friends looked at her, clueless she sighed and explained, "He needed _proof. _He didn't just take my word for it. He didn't trust me enough to take my side. So, all those years of friendship basically don't count with him." The waiter appeared and announced that their table was ready. There was tension so thick you could see it between the friends. In an attempt to lighten the mood, Sakura said, "Itadakimasu!" In her loudest, most bubbly voice. It worked, the girls smiled at their friend. Katana felt something she had never felt before; she felt a sense of family.

"So what are you guys wearing to graduation?" She said.

"It's a surprise." Her friends said, simultaneously. They looked at each other and burst into a fit of giggles.

Sakura smiled serenely. "It's good to be back."

Meanwhile

"Bye, Syaoran!" The bubbly brunette waved at her friend and watched from the doorway with a smile as he sped away. As soon as the door closed, though, she turned around and grimaced in disgust. Her boyfriend walked up and hugged her from behind. She moaned in pleasure as he tongued her neck, making her shiver in delight. She turned around to receive that tongue in her mouth.

"I missed you Jet, baby." He whispered in between breaths.

"Shhh… It's Kiaki, remember?" And with that she pulled off her brown curly wig.

Somewhere Else

Sakura refused to go to her prom date-less. After considering all the free possibilities (the guy that practically lives with is hand in his pants? I _don't _think so.) she remembered a certain sexy officer's cell number in her pocket. She felt a spark of chemistry between them and liked his easy-going manner. She had searched everywhere for his number and finally found in accidentally wedged inside her foundation case. So now she was walking to the police station where he worked, his break was in… -she checked her watch- it started ten minutes ago. She sped up a bit and looked back because she thought she saw a certain someone's car drive by. She was still looking when she bumped into a toned chest. "Oh! I'm so sorry." She mumbled and craned her neck to look at the person… and was met with a pair of electric blue eyes.

"Hi, looking for me?" Said Xishi.

"Oh, uhm, ah yes. Yes I am." She smiled, having thought her return comment fairly decent. He looked at her expectantly with his brows raised. She merely tilted her head to the side in reply.

"Well? What's up?" He said when all was silent.

"Oh right! Yeah, um I know it's really short notice and all but I was wondering if you would like-"

"Uh huh," he prompted. Startled by his sudden interruption, she lost track of what she going to say and her perfectly thought-out speech fell apart. She stared at him awkwardly for a minute and tried to recover.

"Wanna go get coffee?"

"Sure." He said instantly. They walked to a nearby Starbucks (a/n which I also do NOT own.). Along the way, Sakura frequently caught him staring at her on one of her discreet glances toward him (meaning she was staring first and then she would turn away and feel his gaze around her. Finally they were two blocks from the store. "What?" She finally asked. "Is there something on my face?"

"Well," He began, disregarding the last comment. "I was wondering; is this a date?"

"It is if you want it to be." She replied, making the first actually cool-sounding sentence since she bumped into him.

"I want it to be." He murmured huskily.

"Me too." She whispered. She intertwined her fingers with his. She never realized that her whole body leaned toward this motion and before she realized what was happening, his mouth was on hers, sweet and lingering. She couldn't help but think about Syaoran and she wondered what it would be like to kiss _him. _But she brushed that thought aside, reminding herself that she was _so _over him.

Syaoran

He was driving back on the way from Kiaki's house when he thought he saw Sakura. He took a U-turn in the middle of the road just to be sure and, yeah, there she was. But the thing was, she was with that guy from the police station. He followed them until they were about two blocks from what he knew to be Sakura's favorite coffee store. They talked for a minute and then kissed.

If it were possible to feel anything right then, Syaoran would have felt his heart shatter. As it was, all he could do was stare for a minute and slowly drive away.

Okay, a deeply short chapter and I'm very sorry but I just really have a lot on my mind right now like school and this really nice who I seem to gravitate to. But that's not why I can't update often; I can't because I've somehow gotten into advanced classes and am struggling to keep up. But I will try very hard to make the next chapter longer. Keep in mind I've got another story that I'm trying to finish at the same time so don't burn me right okay guys?

**-Chibi angelle**


	14. The Prom

**Sorry it took so long to update, guys. I had a bit of procrastination sprinkled with writer's block. So, without further ado, here's chapter 13: The Prom.**

**Disclaimer: I own the characters and the story plot; tell anyone otherwise and CLAMP will kill me, and then you will never know the end of the story! So, don't plagiarize, this is my crap.**

The night of the prom, Sakura was getting ready in her room when her mom came in.

"Hey sweetie, I just wanted to take a few pictures of your big night." She beamed, taking a few snapshots of Sakura at her dressing table.

"Sure thing, mom." Sakura smiled.

"So, when is your date coming?"

"Uhm," Sakura checked the Hello Kitty clock on the wall. "in about twenty minutes."

"And.. do you like this boy?"

"Well, yeah he's great nice, and sweet but…" _But he doesn't even come close to comparing with Syaoran._

"You know, sometimes, the best thing for yourself to do is forgive." Nadeshiiko said, as if reading her daughter's mind. Still smiling slightly, she took a few more pictures and left Sakura alone with her thoughts.

Twenty Minutes Later

"Honey, your date's here!" Nadeshiiko yelled up the stairs to her daughter.

Xishi was standing in the hall, looking very suave in a midnight blue tuxedo and matching tie. His hair was gelled in spikes but still in the messy, untamable way that was reminiscent of Syaoran's messy chocolate hair. But that was nothing compared to what Sakura looked like.

She came down the stairs like and angel, floating down the steps like they were clouds. Her pink dress shimmered in the light. It clung to her curves and outlined her perfect figure. The bodice had intricate stitching in a darker shade of pink. The skirt had a slit in the side that went up to mid-thigh. Sakura was wearing a skirt underneath in the same shade as the stitching on the bodice. However, it only went part way to cover up the slit so a lot of her toned leg was still exposed.

Her hair was up in a ponytail with two wavy strands falling to frame her face. The hair in the ponytail cascaded down her back in riglets. To top it off, she had sprayed some sparkly hairspray to make it seem like she had stars in her hair. The make up she wore mad her seem older, more mature. That image was totally wrecked when she tripped on the last stair and fell flat on her face. If he had been faster, Xishi could've caught her. As it was, the boy had the reflexes of a garden snail. _Syaoran could've caught me. _She thought, and then pushed herself off the floor and her thoughts as far as she could. She smiled, to assure both her date and her mother that she was perfectly alright.

Blushing, Xishi handed her a corsage that went with her dress perfectly. It had one pink rose and one white rose on a black stretchy band that was loose on her wrist. _Syao would've known to get me a super small wrist band_. One part of her said. The other part reprimanded her by saying, _Well, Syao ain't here, alright? He's with that obnoxious Jet wannabe. _

They turned to leave when Nadeshiiko cried "Wait!" And then snapped several more pictures of them standing by the door. She beamed and kissed her little girl on both cheeks. When she pulled back, Sakura was surprised to see tears glistening on her mother's cheeks. "My baby girl…" Then she excused herself and told them to have a wonderful time.

Sakura gasped, Xishi had rented a black stretch limousine, complete with a concierge who opened the door for them with a smile. Xishi took her hand and gently tugged her toward the limo.

"You look really beautiful." He told her huskily. She blushed and smiled, but couldn't help thinking that Syaoran never would've needed to say it, she'd know by looking in his eyes. With that final bittersweet thought, she got in.

Syaoran was having a crappy time. Kiaki, looking resplendent in a black and white Versacci dress and gloosy lips, seemed to be uninterested in him, no matter what he said. She belittled him with her sarcastic comments and brushed him off when he told her she looked pretty. "Don't I always?" She snorted arrogantly.

So it was pretty much a relief when she ordered him to fetch her something to drink. He gladly left her presence and decided to not bring her the drink and instead pretend he couldn't find her at the end of the night. His spirits crashed when he saw Sakura and her date, the policeman guy, dancing with each other to a lively, upbeat song. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the soldier. He tensed, thinking it was Jet, and then relaxed when he recognized his half-sister's amused giggle.

"I'm not gonna bite." She teased. He cocked an eyebrow. "That was one time!" She defended, and beamed. "Although, I might bite you again if you don't dance with me right now."

"Sure, why not? My date's got a bad case of The Bitch and seems to be paying attention to everyone but me." He replied.

"Where is she! I'm gonna go give a piece of my mind! The nerve of her! Ruining this night just for you! Where is she! Lemme at her!" Mei Lin growled, baring her sharp canine-like teeth.

"Whoa, chill, imotou-san. I don't want to see her anymore than I have to tonight, let's just dance, okay?" He calmed her.

"Fine, let's dance." She grumbled.

As they danced, Syaoran couldn't keep his eyes off Sakura. He couldn't think of anything other than the way her dress clung to her body or the way the light hit the sparkles in his hair. He would've given an arm and a leg to be where that Xishi was. Little did he know, Sakura felt the same about Mei Lin.

Across the room, Sakura kept sneaking glances at Syaoran when she thought Xishi wasn't looking. When Xishi turned so that her back was to Syaoran, she craned her neck to try to see what he was doing. Her neck started to hurt so she tried to take the lead but Xishi wouldn't budge. When she looked up at him, his usually happy blue eyes were glimmering with sadness. "What's wrong?" She asked him.

"I really like you, Sakura. I'm having a great time, but I don't think this is working out."

"What? Why? " She asked, puzzled.

"I came here with the hopes of capturing your heart. As it happens, it already belongs to someone else." He looked purposely at Syaoran and Mei Lin, swaying in time to the music and laughing. "I wish you both the best of luck." He said hoarsly, his voice cracking. And then he walked away.

"My heart belongs to someone else, but it's not like he wants it." She said softly to herself. She ran outside, to the warm, cleansing air and cried softly to herself, so as to not disturb the couples in the bush, having a bit more fun than the school intended.

"What happened?" A well-remembered voice asked her. She looked up to see Syaoran gazing at her in concern. Seeing his face, all her defenses dissolved and she pulled him close in a hug, something she'd been wanting to do ever since she got back from China. "Xishi dumped me." She mumbled into his shirt.

"You don't need a guy to be happy." He comforted her.

"Yes I do."

"No, you don't"

"YES I DO!"

"NO YOU DON'T!"

"Then why am I only happy when I'm with you!" Sakura blurted.

"I… wait, what?"

"I'm only happy when I'm with you." She repeated, softly this time. She tensed, fearing rejection almost as much as she feared ghosts. He put his finger under her chin, tilting it so she was looking him in the eyes. He closed his eyes and kissed her. His lips were warm and tantalizing, invoking her senses. She involuntarily graoned and pulled him in deeper into the kiss.

"Well well well. Ain't this a happy reunion." A steaming Kiaki told them drily.

_Oh shit._

**C'mon guys, review. You know you wanna. **


	15. The Ending Part

**Thanks for reviewing Swtsakura2o9, Rushi Star (**Thanks so much, it means a lot to me that you can feel their emotions.**), lil hana, kita09, Sakura-Sweets, Le Ai (**Oh yeah, you have NO idea. It's going down like never before LoL**), nops, VcChick (**I finally got the part you wanted in ) **), yosiko (**yup, welcome to the ending.**), 2 OVERLY obsessed (**thank you so much for all the reviews you've posted it really means a lot.**), iheartanimex3, tokuteiyouji.**

**And now my final chapter of this story; Enjoy.**

**The Ending Part**

"Well well well. Ain't this a happy reunion." A steaming Kiaki told them drily.

_Oh shit. _Sakura and Syaoran thought simultaneously.

"Yes, the happiest." Syaoran suddenly said.

"What?!" Kiaki screeched. "What are you talking about? You're here with _me. _People would _kill _to even talk to me!"

"Screw off and die, _JET." _Sakura told her.

"What are you talking about?" Kiaki and Syaoran asked her at the same time.

"See, Syaoran? We think the same things and eh… stuff. We _belong _together." She smiled sweetly, stepping forward with her arm outstretched, about to hug him.

"No, actually. You DON"T." Sakura pulled him closer around her like a security blanket. Then she stepped out of the hug. "And you're not fooling anyone. Jet-"

"My name is Kiaki!" She screamed determinedly.

"That hair style? The colored contacts? SO transparent. And ugly." Sakura ripped the curly brown wig off and threw it in her face. With one quick swipe, a blue piece of plastic was balanced on her finger, leaving an angry blackhead with one envy green eye and one baby blue.

The discovered heiress practically exploded. She threw a punch at the smugly smiling Sakura, who wasn't expecting to be attacked and caught the perfectly manicured fist in her eye. Outraged, Sakura launched herself at her. A hundred and ten pounds of enraged teenager landed square on Jet's chest. They rolled around a few feet, littering the ground with sparkles and roses from their corsages. Jet disentangled herself, jumped up and kicked Sakura in the ribs. Sakura involuntarily inhaled sharply but sprung up and jump kicked the girl in the face. (I should probably remind you that Sakura was wearing stiletto heels. _Ouch_.) Jet stumbled back, bleeding at the mouth. Insanity blazed in her eyes. She tackled Sakura around the middle and winded her for a moment, a moment in which she took the opportunity to scratch up her face and rip out some hair. Getting her breath back wasn't easy, especially since Jet was sitting on her chest, but Sakura determinedly clung to consciousness. Annoyed, Sakura lifted her leg, kicking Jet square in the middle of her back. Sakura got up, shaking the kinks out of her spine. "Oh you asked for it, Rich Bitch." Sakura gave her a right hook and followed it up with an uppercut to the chin. Jet kicked her in the stomach, which not only hurt, it also pissed her off even more. Sakura kneed Jet in the stomach. "How you like me now?!" While Jet was bent over in pain, Sakura gave her one final shove and Jet tripped over something (a blade of grass, actually, apparently money can't buy gracefulness) and rolled down the hill their school had been founded on and lay sprawled in the middle of the deserted road.

After a minute she got up, just screaming at the indignity of it all. "I will get you back, Kinomoto bitch! No one does this to Tsai Je-" She was mercifully cut off by the truck that ran her over. (There you go, VcChick, I put it in, FINALLY)

Sakura jumped in surprise. "Holy SHIT!! Call 911!!" She yelled.

The ambulance came, not three minutes later, right after Tomoyo and some blue-haired guy materialized out of the bushes. "That was awesome!" The stranger said.

"I told you she was." Tomoyo told him, and he kissed her on the cheek.

"Tomoyo-san… eh, how did you get here? Who are you?" She asked the strange man.

"Eh? Oh, my bad. I," He struck a movie-star pose. "am Eriol the GREAT. Fear me! Bwahahahaha."

"Shut up Eri-kun." Tomoyo told him.

"Eriol…? Nice to meet you. That still doesn't answer my, though. Who are you?" Sakura asked as politely as possible.

"He's my boyfriend." Tomoyo answered at Eriol's shocked expression at someone actually NOT knowing who he was, the cocky bastard.

"OH. Sorry. Hi."

"Ma'am? A few words if you please." Sakura turned and noticed a man was talking to her. Behind him was the ambulance that she had called…

"Oh gosh, yes. I'm so sorry. It was an accident. I didn't mean to.." He forestalled her blubbering with a raised hand.

"It's fine, she's okay. Well, she's going to be okay. Her vitals are fine, but she's got a broken arm, a couple fingers and toes, ribs, leg, foot, nose… I could go on." He offered.

"No, it's fine. We'll go see her in the hospital tomorrow." She smiled and the ambulance guy left. Sakura turned to Syaoran. "She'll be fine. She's just broken a couple bones."

"Now that the drama's all blown over, I want to ask you something." He pulled her close and held her. She felt so loved she almost forgot what he just said. As a matter of fact, being this close to Syaoran, she almost forgot her own name. "Sakura I love you. I know I always will. I… would you…" He got down on one knee and Sakura was sure her heart stopped beating. "Would you marry me?" but Sakura was silent. "Like, not right now, but eventually, in the future?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes, I- yes. OF COURSE!" She screamed and tackled him. Surprised, by both her answer and her action, he lost balance and fell over. She smothered him with kisses for a minute and pulled back. She just realized that Syaoran had never forgot about her, that he totally anticipated her being there. That ring was all the proof she needed. "I love you." She whispered. And went back to kissing him. He didn't even need to say that he loved her because, as always, she could see it in his eyes. Their little make-out session was interrupted by a loud and predicted squeal of "KaWaII!!!" Behind them.

Tomoyo was feeling especially happy today. She had captured Sakura and Syaoran's (long-awaited) confession, Sakura kicking Jet's ass and their proposal. ALL IN ONE NIGHT!! Someone up there must like her. She hugged her boyfriend tightly and kissed him. This was indeed a good day.

(In case you were wondering what Tomoyo and Eriol were doing in the forest in the first place… remember those couples who were 'having a little more fun than the school intended'? Yeah, that was them.)

Six months later

"Do you, Kinomoto Sakura, take this man as your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold etcetera, etcetera." An impish blue-haired minister said.

"I do." Sakura said, ignoring the minister's lack of formality.

"And do you, Li Xiao Lang, this FINE chicky-"

"Hey! What about me?!" Tomoyo yelled from the audience.

"You're supa fine, my love." He cleared his throat. "To be your lawful wedded wife yadda yadda yadda, you know the drill. 'Til death do you part?"

"I do." Syaoran said after elbowing the impolite minister in the stomach. Hard.

"Ow. I Now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." The couple was kissing before the strained words were completely out of his mouth.

They walked down the aisle together, being drowned in the congratulatory wishes and such. After half an hour they left to go straight to their honeymoon. With a final goodbye and several punches to Eriol for his lack of respect during their special day, they were off to Hawaii.

Nadeshiiko, Jadeshiike (now fully healed) and Miashiiko. Nadeshiiko sighed happily in the arms of her fiancée, Fujitaka. It was kind of embarrassing to have your daughter be married before you if you thought about it, but all Nades could think of was how proud she was of her daughter for making the right choice in life. She would never forget the happy look on Sakura's face when she announced she and Syaoran had made up… and were getting married.

Jadeshiike also refused to go stag to her (sort-of-kind-of-not-really-half) daughter's wedding. Guess who she went with? Shobu Marimoshi. Sound familiar? Maybe I should say… Dr. Shobu. They looked pretty suave in matching grey-black attire. Jadeshiike had her dark hair down in straight layers and Marimoshi had his short black hair gelled back, his eyes matching his blazer. They were a pretty happy couple, okay, VERY happy couple. She sighed contently as she leaned into her boyfriend's chest with his arms securely around her waist.

"Jade? Can I have a moment?" A barely remembered voice came from behind her.

Jon looked horrible. His once well-kept hair was frizzy and messy (and not sexy-messy like Syaoran's hair is, Jon's hair is like… hobo-messy) and all over the place. He had the most unnerving bloodshot eyes and funky smell about him. His gray-ish suit was in tatters, there were holes in it everywhere (and I'm pretty sure the suit wasn't gray when he bought it).

"No way, you've had you're moment." She looked around for a minute. "Where's your little tart?"

"You mean Chia?" He clarified.

"No, she doesn't deserve a name. You will refer to her as a little tart. You got that?" She barked at him.

"Eh? Okay. Yes, dear." He replied wearily.

"I ain't your 'dear', buddy. Call me, Jade-san." She told him, relishing the power she had over him.

"Then, ah, what's the point of ordering me around?"

"It makes me feel good." She and all her sisters laughed at his pathetic state until he was out of sight, and even after that.

And if you're wondering what happened to Jet, well. After all her bones healed, she looked awful. But she figured, Hey that's nothing a little plastic surgery can't fix. She didn't anticipate the operation going terribly wrong. After her face healed up she looked like a disfigured Michael Jackson (a/n Gomen to any of his fans). This drove her crazy so now she lives in a nice padded cell with a cashemere stragithjacket.

So all in all, I'd say it was a happy ever after for everyone.

**The End**

Whew, I'm so glad that's done. I really enjoyed writing this and I hope y'all liked it. Please review. BTW I'm sorry this chapter was so short but it's basically the epilogue. I hope you like it anyways.


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